Grand Rapids — A student-led club at Grand Rapids Public Museum High School is turning helping the less fortunate into an ever-expanding mission.
The Helping Others Together Group — HOT for short — is in the process of planning and organizing a March 28 “Spring Giving” event that will put food, clothing, bags and hygiene items into the hands of about 125 homeless people and others in need.
The upcoming event — taking place in the parking lot of LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed Church near Dégagé Ministries in Grand Rapids — will be the second of the school year for the 10-student team. Students are hoping to build on the success of a Thanksgiving 2024 giveaway, during which the club handed out sandwiches and essentials to about 75 people.
During that event, the students realized the need was greater than they’d anticipated.
“While we were setting up there was just a huge line,” recalled senior Vincent Ward. “I guess the word got around. … We handed out all of our bags within 10, 15 minutes.”
Since items went so quickly in the fall, the HOT Group has worked on upping its game for the next event.
‘I understand what it’s like not having food every day. It’s a difficult thing. So I just genuinely wanted to … let them know, You’re not alone in this and we can all help you.’
— senior Keyshawn Harris
“We’re going to do the same thing we did in the fall, but we’re trying to improve it,” said senior Briydon Frain, noting that the club has collected donations from the community and hosted a bake sale in order to be able to offer more to people in need.
“We increased the amount of toiletries and items, too,” added Spanish teacher and club adviser Amy Jasinski. “We have some blankets, we have some disposable large towels, we have manicure sets.”
The club has received a $1,750 grant from the Peter R. Marsh Foundation to help support its work.
Keeping it Going
Jasinski said a smaller iteration of the group first came together during the 2023-24 school year to serve hot chocolate to people facing food or housing insecurities. It grew from there, drawing the interest of Vincent, Briydon and fellow senior Keyshawn Harris, who planned to focus on homelessness for their capstone project.
“I met with the boys and told them what we did last year with the HOT chocolate event,” said Jasinski, adding that seniors had to research various aspects of homelessness and do a community service project based on what they found.
Keyshawn said he joined the club for the capstone project, but found he had a personal attachment to the work.
“I understand what it’s like not having food every day,” he said. “It’s a difficult thing. … So I just genuinely wanted to give out to people as best I can to let them know, ‘You’re not alone in this and we can all help you.’”
In addition to Vincent, Briydon and Kreyshawn, the club also includes ninth-graders Mason Allen, Jazzlynn Calderon, Kiahir Baker, Kameron Sumoski, Malachi Cruz, Jameer Runyon and J’quan Overstreet. The freshman class also takes time to study socio-economic issues, and works on projects relating to community service, Jasinksi said.
For the food giveaways, club members prepare the sandwiches and assemble the toiletry bags themselves. They also handle all the planning, organizing, budgeting and logistics.
“They chose what to do,” Jasinski said. “They came up with everything.”
The goal is to keep the HOT Group alive and continue to grow it over time.
“That’s the plan — keeping this group going even when we’re gone,” Keyshawn said.
Jasinski said the students are putting their all into the work. She noted that during the Thanksgiving event, many of them even gave up their own meals to make sure others were fed.
“We went through our lunches so fast — 15, 20 minutes, everything was gone — these guys gave their lunches out because we ran out,” she said. “They wanted to continue giving. … It was just beautiful.”
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