Our First EYC Service Day: “Shopping is hard”

“Shopping is hard.” EVERY ONE of the nine St. Michael’s youth who participated in our first EYC Service Day on Sunday, September 6, expressed this sentiment as they wandered the Target aisles as they shopped for items that they would assemble into 6 Hope Packs for the Texas nonprofit, Carrying Hope, which provides children entering the foster care system for the first with a backpack full of first night essentials--clothes, toiletries, comfort items,toys and books.

Bonnie Walton, our amazing youth coordinator, regaled the staff during our weekly meeting with heartwarming instances of our amazing youth in action—they were given a budget and sent out to select appropriate items. Jonah, for example, was thoughtful about color choices, encouraging everyone to pick items with comforting colors like blue rather than black, wanting each pack to “feel like a hug”.

The group, accompanied by 4 adults, also used Room 8 to prepare 43 grab-and-go meals and and then traveled to stock pantries for the ATX Free Fridge Project. They had the opportunity to meet several neighbors who needed meals. Clara says of the experience, “I liked getting to meet Dematreon at the ATX Free Fridge. He wasn't what I expected.” Our UT seniors, Aaron and Sophia, noted “how easy it was to just drop off food at the ATX Free Fridge near campus. I live down the street and can drop food on my own.”

During conversations over the course of the day (along with several forms of tacos), “we brainstormed projects and ideas for the future,” according to Bonnie, “and went home a little changed, a lot exhausted, and ready for the next one.”

—Christine Havens