With all of the homeless in the county, there is a group of young ladies that are trying to make a difference one person at a time. It might seem simple to many, but having a warm blanket and getting a Valentine’s Day card is something that many do not have. Girl Scout Junior Troop 6048 in Santee set a goal to make a difference in some of these people’s lives.
With all of the homeless in the county, there is a group of young ladies that are trying to make a difference one person at a time. It might seem simple to many, but having a warm blanket and getting a Valentine’s Day card is something that many do not have. Girl Scout Junior Troop 6048 in Santee set a goal to make a difference in some of these people’s lives.
Girl Scout Troop 6048 Leader Sherrie Peregud said this is another project the girls chose in working towards their Bronze Award, the highest award a Girl Scout Junior can achieve. Along with the work that they are doing with the Santee Food Bank, they found out that the San Diego Rescue Mission needed blankets.
“They (the homeless shelters) get a few things through the holidays for Thanksgiving and Christmas but not a lot after that,” she said. “And the girls decided to create Valentines for the women and children of the San Diego Rescue Mission downtown.”
Peregud said that they probably do not receive many Valentine cards, and that the girls got together and handmade cards for the more than 100 women and children in the shelter.
“It was so heartfelt,” she said. “It was ‘Thinking of You,’ poems, they drew pictures.”
Peregud said the girls talked about this project with a great conservation in regards to the homeless people. Question were brought up about those who choose to be homeless, those that are drug addicts, but when it was all brought to the table for discussion the girls came to the conclusion that they are not all that way and regardless, “Homeless are people too.”
“I enjoyed doing this because I have seen a lot of people around downtown that are in the Rescue that think that nobody cares about them. But when they open the Valentines they will be like ‘Somebody actually does care about me and they sent me a Valentine.’ I liked collecting the blankets because when I go to bed I like to read. I was thinking one time while I was reading that some people don’t get that. They just have to sit in the cold and I am lucky that I am in my bed and warm.”
Amanda, 10
“I liked making the cards because knowing that someone on Valentine’s Day is going to open these cards and know that someone actually cares about them.”
Emilee, 10
“What I liked about collecting blankets is that I got to work with everyone here and I knew that when I go home and I am really cold and tucked in my bed that there are people out there sitting by a tree, laying there shivering.”
Marissa, 11
“I liked collecting the blankets because I know that it can be shelter for them to help keep them warm”
Bella, 10
“I felt good about collecting the blankets because knowing that they will be warm at night, or in the morning they will have something to help keep them warm.”
Faith, 11
“I enjoyed making the Valentine cards because it was fun to write different poems and writing nice things for the homeless. I know that they will be happy when they read them.”
Wendy, 10
“When I was making these cards I felt happy because I knew they were going to people that will enjoy them and they would think, ‘Wow, they really are thinking of me.’”
Kayle, 10
I“I thought it was fun because when I think of when I am home in my bed and watching TV, that they are shivering and when we give the blankets to them they will think of us and they will not be cold anymore.”
Isabella, 11
“I enjoyed writing the cards, drawing pictures and knowing that they are going to people that think that nobody really cares about them and knowing that when they open them there will be a smile on their face. When we were collecting blankets I was thinking about when I am on my way to school I see homeless people sitting there and they have a little kid and they are really sad all the time. I just know there are other people out there like them and it makes me feel good that we’re giving to them and helping them and maybe they won’t feel so sad.”
Heley, 10
“We wanted to collect blankets because in the winter time it is cold while we were all warm in our beds. With the blankets, we will know that they will be warm too and not so cold.”
Twila, 10
