Project Care Packages

If you follow me on social media, you’ve probably noticed I’ve been posting videos about a care package project I’m working on. 2 weeks ago I held a poll on my Instagram and Facebook Stories about charities. I was curious to see how many people are involved in charities, and in which ways. I thought posting to both IG and FB would be best as the demographics differ. My IG is mainly peers while my FB is mainly family/friends. While there is some overlap, I know not everyone I’m friends with follows me on both platforms. My findings are as follows:

Question #1 – Do you donate to charities? In any way (money, time, items)

Question #2 – Do you prefer donating time or money?

Question #3 – If you donate money, what do you feel is a good amount?

Question #4 If you donate time, why?

Question #5 – Are you more likely to donate/sponsor if you know exactly where it’s going?

Question #6 – Are you more likely to donate when:

While I was genuinely curious to see what people would answer, I was also trying to get an idea of involvement for this project I had in mind. I also wanted to see if “real life” would match up with “in theory”, and if people truly mean what they say. Can you tell I’m analytical yet?

Homelessness is something I’ve been involved in for quite some time for anyone who knows me personally. I have no explanation as to why that is or what got me started in it, I just did. As a kid, I remember writing a short story about a young girl donating her clothes and items to help those in need. This is my earliest memory of being involved, and I even read my story during a church service to my congregation. Since then, my involvement only grew.

One of the weeks of the summer camp I worked at for years was a mission week. My specific group helped out homeless shelters. We made care packages and sandwiches, participated in food shelters, helped donation centers separate their items, fixed up bicycles, and walked the streets handing out items and praying over those who wanted it. It was not only fulfilling for myself, but watching so many kids, young adults, and adults be involved made it even more bittersweet.

When I was in college, I had a group project for my Civic Engagement Class. We decided to do our project on homelessness among college students. Part of this project included a “social experiment” where we went downtown to see how people generally treated the homeless – but specifically – a college-aged person. You can view our video (and my acting solo) here. Another part of this project was holding a donation drive, on campus and in person, for clothing, items, and anything anyone no longer wanted so we could donate it to a nearby shelter. We received enough bags to fill a small bedroom!

I’ve participated in different ways throughout my life, and while I was walking the isles of the Dollar Tree, an idea came to me to do it again! A lot of times people include soap, shampoo/conditioner, and body washes to care packages. This is great in the sense that those are highly requested, because everyone wants to be/feel clean and smell nice, however, those only work if you have water; which not everyone does. When I saw a package of Face & Body Wipes, I knew it was meant to be. This was absolutely perfect. I rushed home and began planning.

While I’ve done care packages before, I’ve never done them in an environment that gets cold. Now that I live up in CT, and it’s November, it’s beginning to get chilly outside. I know one of the most commonly requested items among homeless people are socks, which I of course accounted for, but what about something to keep them warm all around? I started looking up bulk pricing for hoodies and hats, and my list was starting to come together.

Finally, my list of items was complete. Everything I wanted to include in my care packages. The only dilemma I had was not being able to fully finance this project myself. Given that I had conducted my survey only a few days prior, this was the perfect time to find out if people really are interested in helping. I have started making videos announcing my project, plans, and updates as I go along. Donations have started coming in. More items have been ordered and purchased. I’m doing it!

While I’m still not close to my $1500 goal, I’m getting there. I know I’ll be doing these packages regardless if I get help or not, just on a smaller, more affordable scale. However, my goal is still there, and there is still time! If you’re interested in helping and would like to participate as well, my payment information will be below. I’ll still be posting video updates on my TikTok, my Instagram, and my Facebook page publicly for anyone to see.

I’ve also added a list below of all the items I will be able to include if I reach my goal, so check it out! If you have any questions feel free to leave them below or DM me on my socials! Stay tuned for final results 🙂

Complete list of items that will be included should my goal of $1500 be reached:

• Sweatshirt Pullovers
• Gloves
• Hats
• Socks
• Toothbrushes
• Toothpastes
• Mouthwashes
• Bandaids
• Alcohol Wipes
• Gauze
• Tissues
• Lotions
• Face & Body Wipes
• Deodorant
• Pads
• Tampons
• Dry Shampoo
• Backpack
• $5 Gift Card for food