“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
― Charles Dickens
In the middle of the Fall 2022 semester, I looked at the seemingly war-torn backpack of one of my students, and a sweatshirt that doubled as a coat, and decided that South Street needed to find a way to support families and teachers who were met with challenges as the seasons changed. Inflation is just one of the issues that have touched us all on any side of the poverty line.
I suggested in an administrative meeting that we should plan a mid-school year giveaway. With the direct support of my co-workers Shawn Bonner and Riley Alchier, we started planning and making phone calls. My aspiration was to bring new volunteers and donors in to partner with South Street for this inaugural giveaway, and to embrace our community neighbors in a fresh way. With the help of old and new partners, we were able to do just that. As word spread, new volunteers and donors seemed to stream in from all directions– so did coats, hats, socks, backpacks, school supplies, clothes, blankets, and many other general necessities.
I was and am completely floored at the outpouring of such generosity from our volunteers and donors. No words can express my gratitude for your support. It means so much to me, but more to those families whom we were able to help. Not only were we able to provide a daily necessity – a coat (especially in northeast Ohio weather)– but we were able to give away school supplies. So many teachers use parts of their salary to provide school supplies and learning materials for our students. My hope is that with this support, we were able to offset some of the costs community teachers usually incur.
A special thanks to Grace Church of Fairlawn, Just In Time Staffing, Sherri Bevan Walsh Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, Truly Reaching You, Akron NAACP, The REACH Center, Trish Rice of Molina Healthcare of Ohio, Goshen Interdenominational Church, Life Anew Behavioral Health, Corie Steinke of The University of Akron, Akron Parks Collaborative and all of our friends who donated to this cause.
We greatly appreciate your kindness. It will never be forgotten.
Warmly,
Education and Volunteer Director
South Street Ministries