Did you know that over 560,000 people are homeless? As part of their project dedicated to help homelessness, Service Learning was super excited to host the annual Covered with Care event. Through this event, they were able to make 36 felt blankets and 200 HOPE bags to donate to Hope Atlanta, which is an organization that is dedicated to providing the most comprehensive approach to tackling homelessness in metro Atlanta.
This isn’t the first time Covered with Care has happened at GSMST. However, this year brought many changes, including a new sponsoring organization, more blankets, and HOPE bags!
HOPE bags are small plastic bags that contain basic living essentials and were donated by students and faculty throughout the entire week.
During the event, many students participated in making blankets, which sounds a lot simpler than it actually is! In addition, they were able to enjoy cookies and milk provided by the school’s PTSA. Service Learning also provides a way to make students and faculty aware of the situation of homelessness in our community through running a “Kahoot” game during the event as well as presenting at the monthly faculty meeting on why teachers should motivate their students to donate.
Hannah Jeevanayagam, a junior who is part of Service Learning, talked about the experience. “This made donating HOPE bags and making blankets something REAL to the students and faculty, and helped them realize the impact that a single bag or blanket would make on an individual’s life.” Yentil Nicholas, another member of Service Learning, found the experience enlightening. “It helped us to gather valuable resources to brighten up someone’s day and to also get them through this tough winter.” She also noted that the organization was very excited to donate all that they have collected. What a great way to give back to the community this holiday season!
Interested in learning more about Service Learning? Please contact Ms. Nicole D’Antonio at Nicole_DAntonio@gwinnett.k12.ga.us or Ms. Rebecca Robbins at Rebecca_Robbins@gwinnett.k12.ga.us.
