The value of community is often empowered by the student life and resources available at Taft; when these forces come together, it enables students to stand up for what is right and make a difference in the lives around them. Hope for the Homeless and Helping Hands are clubs available to students to help promote this sense of community and bring forth social equality.
Hope for the Homeless is a club at Taft that orchestrates helping people in need of basic services, such as those who don’t have a home or access to food, water and life necessities. Throughout the month of Nov. the Hope for the Homeless club hosted a food drive, for the homeless to be able to have access to food during the holiday season. The boxes to donate food have been around different classes and important doorways throughout Taft.
Students were able to contribute by donating food and placing it in the box. The Food drive ended Nov. 19 and was donated to New Hope. Over 20 boxes were donated. The Hope for the Homeless Club worked with the Helping Hands Club to make this happen. The club meets once a month from Oct. to May in room 236. Meetings only take place at the Varsity Campus.
Initially, the Hope for the Homeless Club met and voted on what drive they should hold. They debated between a toy drive, feminine care drive and food drive. The food drive won with 90% of the club’s votes. However, they are potentially planning to save a toy drive closer for the holidays in support of kids in less fortunate situations.
Co-President Gabriella Panzica said, “I don’t just want to include the homeless, we try to include everyone else in need. We meet once a month, and discuss possible drives and fundraisers.”
Panzica continued, “For this food drive, we collaborated with Helping Hands in order to secure a larger supply of food which was donated to New Hope, a local church. I love helping people and the community, people should keep helping out. Don’t think that it doesn’t make a difference.”
Panzica went on to express how people should be grateful for what they have and she explained how this couldn’t be possible without her co-president Chelsea Gonzales, sponsor Ms. Niese and fellow students. Over the break she stresses that people should go out and look for opportunities to volunteer in their community.
Isaac Betancourt is the Event Coordinator of the Hope for the Homeless Club. His role for the club is to talk to other organizations and set up drives such as food drives and coat drives. These organizations include New Hope, Sarah Circle and so forth.
“We should care because they are humans like us, they are just less fortunate and put into bad situations and helping them can put them in a better position in life so then continue to grow and develop to continue the cycle of helping other people,” said Betancourt.
Betancourt continued sharing that he joined this club in order to help and be closer with his community. People often think that money is the only way to help the cause but time is just available and it’s something that everyone has.
Reem Elsaim is the President of Helping Hands. Helping Hands is a club that helps the community as a whole. So far they have sold flowers in order to raise money for the Leukemia Research Foundation in order to help those obtain medication in need. The club also wants to do a flower sale for Valentine’s Day.
Individuals can help by joining the club. Through joining this club, members can develop a sense of community and be a part of efforts to better it as a whole. For example they are also planning to build a new library at Taft with the raised money. Every Monday they meet at room 237, from 3:10 pm until 4:00.
“Take your community seriously and help make it a better place for people to live in comfortably,” said Elsaim.
