HUNTINGTON – At Wednesday’s School Committee meeting, Student Council president and student representative Brennan Foley presented the Blessings Bags program, which will be a district-wide initiative to fill care packages for homeless clients of the Samaritan Inn in Westfield.
Foley said the idea started when his Spanish teacher required the class to do a project focusing on social action. Foley, along with senior Iris Delaney and junior Emily Warren, visited the Samaritan Inn to find out about needs. Their project was chosen by the class, and also adopted by the Student Council and the district as a whole.
Each school will have its own list of items to donate. Chester Elementary students will be asked to bring in toothbrushes, toothpaste and mouthwash. Littleville Elementary will donate bandages, tissues and hand warmers. The middle school will be sked for soap, shampoo and deodorant, and junior and senior high school for socks, winter gloves (sizes medium or extra-large) and unscented deodorant. Parents and staff will be asked to donate feminine hygiene products and gallon plastic bags.
“We tried to give more expensive items to the high school,” Foley said. The drive will run from January 4 to January 15, “which gives everybody two full weeks to fundraise,” Foley said. “High school students will be doing it for spirit points,” he added.
Drop-off areas are at Chester and Littleville elementary schools, the middle school office, and art teacher Avery Wing’s high school classroom. All items will be packaged and brought to the Samaritan Inn in Westfield. Any questions may be directed to Foley at [email protected] or Wing at [email protected].
