The Time to be Giving
By Grace Abraham
Whether it’s making fleece blankets or donating food to your local food bank, helping those in your community is really important. It’s easy to feel small, but changes can’t just happen. It all starts with one person. Here are 5 ways in which you can help give back to your Jenks community:
Food Bank Donations
Sometimes we take things for granted and forget that there are people who are in different situations. Here in the Jenks community, there are many people who are in need of food that can’t get it. But that’s where the Jenks Food bank steps in.
“We’ve got kids that are kicked out of their families’ home, living on their own, living on somebody’s couch,” Mrs Liz Wright, Executive Vice President of the Jenks Food Bank, says. “Lately, there have been eight people new a week...and we rely very heavily on our food drive.”
The school food drive ended recently, but that doesn’t mean you can’t give anymore.
You can make a difference by donating any food or even money to the food bank. You may think it to be insignificant, but every little piece helps multiple people in the community.
“If I couldn't get food here, we would have to go some days without food, or have utilities turned off if I had to use bill money for food,” A 67 year old anonymous source shares. “Also the volunteers and others here have often lifted me from depression with their loving hearts.”
Make the change and be the difference. Help the people in your community. For more information, check out the Jenks Food Bank website to see what they are in need of, and donate what you can.
Location: Address: 324 W Aquarium Pl, Jenks, OK 74037
Clothes and Shoes Donations
People need clothes and shoes to keep them covered and warm, especially in this weather.
“[CarePoint] takes care of what we don’t,” Wright says. “They take care of clothing and other needs.”
Donating any clothes or shoes that you no longer use will be extremely helpful for the people that CarePoint helps. Even if you don’t have anything clothing-wise or shoe-wise to give, then you could always donate money to them so that they can get what they need.
Location: 2914 E 91st St, Tulsa, OK 74137
GrandFriend
One thing that is unfortunately overlooked in the community are the senior citizens. They are more than happy to spend time with young faces, to share stories, and to just have a good time. That’s when you can get a GrandFriend.
A GrandFriend is your buddy at any nursing home. Here at Jenks we have Grace Living Center, which is close to campus and wouldn’t require you to go very far. What you would do is to volunteer your time to sit and listen to all the fun stories they will tell you. You would visit often, and even write them letters! Many of these people have done so much for us, so let’s show them our appreciation. Just go to Grace Living Center and ask if you could get a GrandFriend.
Location: 711 N 5th St, Jenks, OK 74037
Animal Shelters
There are many stray animals that are getting picked up everyday. Because of the increase, many facilities are running out of supplies and are in need of certain things. One thing that you can do is donate money, old towels, pillows, pet beds, and/or animal toys that are of no use to you. Make sure that none of them are broken or ripped so that the shelter can use it for a while.
Tulsa Animal Welfare Shelter is always happy to have people donate supplies for their animals. For more information of what to donate and where to go, check out the Tulsa Animal Welfare Shelter website.
Location: 3031 N Erie Ave, Tulsa, OK 74115
Start a Drive
If you truly feel like you want to spread the word and get awareness for a certain situation, then this is for you.
First, start off with a cause. Ask yourself what you are going to do to help others around you. Will it be clothes? Food? Gifts? Pick a cause and then start spreading the word and gathering donations.
There’s a student here at the highschool who started her own drive. Senior Camille Jones started a scarf drive in hopes of keeping homeless people warm through the winter.
“When I was trying to think of what to do, I knew that there are already coat drives, clothing drives, etc,” Jones says. “I thought that going to handmade scarves would be a unique and heartfelt gift.”
Find an area, and pursue it. From there, find a place to hand out your donations to. Passing out supplies to people by hand is not recommended due to safety issues. So find a local shelter or donation center where you can hand your donations to.
“It’s important to keep in mind that when you come across a homeless person, you’re seeing a regular human being on a really bad day,” Jones says. “They need love and support just like anybody else.”
Spread the love and help others who are in need.
If you are interested and wanting to help, you could start a drive of your own. Or you could donate supplies to Jones’ drive. She is looking for fleece material for the scarves to be made, but there is also a whole list of supplies that you could look to donate from.
If you want to drop donations off or want to see the list, come by Mr. McCown’s room 5222.