Who are we as human beings if we ignore the suffering of others?
By: Yvonne Huynh
The goal of Helping the Homeless (HTH) is within its name. HTH tries to encourage our school and our community to take steps to benefit the homeless community in Central Florida. The club participates in many feeding events, drives, and much more. Volunteering to help the homeless can benefit not just the less fortunate but yourself as well. It can help you to find friends, learn new skills, connect with the community and even advance your career. Giving to others can also help one cope with stress, depression, and keep you mentally stimulated, while providing you a sense of purpose. HTH really connects with the reality of people in poverty and strives to help and inspire others.
One of the beloved events, Hashtag Lunchbag Orlando, is organized by Stacey Marine. Based on #HashtagLunchbag, it is a humanitarian service movement dedicated to empowering and inspiring humanity to acquire the benefits of giving through social media. In this organization, members and people in the community create and use bagged lunches with a sweet message to spread kindness, love, and experiences to give an inspiration. Stacey Marine said that she was once in the same position, once in poverty, working a job at a really young age. Marine started this organization in Orlando because she loved giving back to those in need. Marine said, “I’ve been on my own since I was 15 and I know what it feels like to have nothing, so it was personal for me. I also felt the idea of getting people together and making lunches and hitting the streets was attainable. My favorite thing about it is us doing all the work and making human connections with people in need, that was the most important thing to me, showing people that people do care. ”
Many people are in HTH. Amy Bassmaji, a member of HTH and student of Timber Creek talked about her experience with the club. She joined HTH because her cousin was in the club and it would help with her college applications. Bassmaji said, “I like the environment HTH gives me because it makes me feel happy and blessed that I’m part of something that is so much bigger than I am.” Another Helping the Homeless member is Alana. She believes that not enough people try to help the homeless or it isn’t talked about enough. “Whenever I see homeless people, it makes me really sad, and the issue of homelessness is not talked about enough. Nor do I think that enough people try to help the homeless,” she said. Benjamin, HTH’s 2019 Co-President has been in the club for four years. He said, “I truly feel that it is the most impactful club in this school. Not only for our community, but also for growing as an individual.”
Not only is Helping the Homeless a great club to help the people in need, but also in a way, helping yourself.
#HashtagLunchbag Orlando
In these pictures, Helping the Homeless members are volunteering at #HashtagLunchbag Orlando. They first set up the food and started packing. Each person had a job to do, either it’s making the sandwiches, putting the sandwiches in bags, or putting fruits in the bag. After they finish making the lunches, everyone split up to deliver them to the people in need. Photos donated.