This time of year, there are always plenty of opportunities to donate toys to help families going through a difficult time, but many of those drives are geared toward younger children.
One Wayne County woman and her nonprofit are working to fill that gap.
“I don’t think people realize that poverty strikes at all levels, and one of the places it gets overlooked the most is with high schoolers,” said Mike Wegher, interim superintendent of Taylor Public Schools. “We have to meet every student with whatever their needs are, and sometimes those needs aren’t the academic piece that we’re here for in schools. I think we have to take into account that kids aren’t going to excel academically. They’re not going to make that growth if they’re having those struggles at home.”
That’s where Bridget Jarvis, founder and CEO of nonprofit The Community Gal, comes in.
“So five years ago, I had 24 students that were considered homeless in Wayne Westland Schools, and I knew they weren’t getting anything for Christmas, so I called 24 friends and said, ‘I need you to sponsor a student,’ and they did,” said Jarvis.
Since then, it’s expanded to Taylor School District and is now known as the SHH! Drive (Santa Helps High Schoolers).
Last year, they helped 137 kids between the two school districts and this year, they want to help more, but donations are down.
They are looking for more support from the community.
“I have gotten multiple kids that have come back and said, ‘Thank you so much, I really appreciate it,’” Jarvis said. “Not only did it make them feel better, it made their parents feel better because they weren’t going to be able to give them the things they want to give them, and it really took a load off our families.”
They are looking for makeup kits, art kits, air pods, gift cards to restaurants, name-brand clothing like Nike and Northface, and more.
Click here to learn more about the drive.
For a look at their Amazon Wishlist, click here.
The Community Gal is also taking monetary donations for the drive via PayPal here.