The Problem
This service project will benefit the homeless and hungry of Mecklenburg County and surrounding areas. There are many hungry and homeless in this area and she desires to do her part to assist these families but her main focus are the women and children since she once walked in their shoes. Za’Nia wants to complete at least 225-250 “Go-Go bags” to be donated to the Women and Children’s Shelter of Charlotte. “Go-Go bags” are plastic gallon bags filled with food, snacks and toiletries given to the homeless and hungry as they travel throughout their day. Usually in our area, when people come to the shelter, they are presented with book bags. The “Go-Go bags” will fit nicely in the book bag even when they have other items in there. Once they are packed, they will be distributed to the Women and Children’s Homeless Shelter of Mecklenburg County.
Our Plan
TZa’Nia’s issue is trying to prevent hunger, making sure that no one goes hungry. When her older sister started a book club and support group for children of incarcerated parents, she heard families, especially children, talk about being hungry. At her school, she hears kids talk about how they like to come to school each day so they will have food because sometimes they might not have any on the weekend. When she sees people standing on the street with signs begging for money and food, she often starts to cry. Za’Nia is a foster child and she knows what it is like to be hungry, sometimes not having enough food. There have been times when she had to eat her cereal with water because the family didn’t have milk. For a short time, she lived in the homeless shelter. Now when she sees people who are hungry, she will sometimes give them her snack money so they don’t have to be hungry. The residents usually eat breakfast before the leave the facility and if they get back to the facility in the evening in a timely manner, they get a dinner meal. With this project, they would have something for themselves and their children to eat (especially the young ones that do not attend school) during the day while they are away from the shelter. This would also help them on the weekends to have something to eat as well.