A group of ninth graders spent two days in early February helping out at InnVision’s Georgia Travis Center, a shelter for homeless women and children in San Jose. Donations to the center of clothing, linen, toys, games and food must be sorted and organized before use, and over two days about 90 students spent nearly 600 hours pitching in.
Students sorted hundreds of pieces of clothing by age and gender and arranged them in the shelter’s store. They organized boxes of toys and games before shelving them, served food to the homeless and helped out in the office as well. “The work was hard, but they did it all with a smile on their faces and a glint in their eyes,” noted Naren Nayak, father of participant Avinash.
A handful of Harker parents helped supervise and arranged for lunch and snacks, but even that turned into a donation as the unspent lunch money, $131, went to InnVision as well.
“On behalf of InnVision, I would like to share our deepest gratitude for the amazing work during the Harker Service Days at GTC!” said David Tran, InnVision’s volunteer and program coordinator. “It was a definite success in terms of the amount of work that was done. I enjoyed the energy and charisma that the Harker students brought, especially their keen interest in learning more about homelessness and our agency. Overall, it was a great success and definitely a great start to a wonderful partnership between InnVision and Harker.”
Jaynie Neveras, community relations manager for the Georgia Travis Center, was equally appreciative. “We are most grateful for these days of service, as the Harker students truly did make a difference,” she said. “Their volunteer efforts in all areas, whether making over a classroom supply area, sorting donations, organizing a toy warehouse or helping with paper work for case managers, made lives better. No child should ever know homelessness – a lesson brought to life for these compassionate Harker volunteers.”
More information about donating to or volunteering at InnVision can be found at www.innvision.org.