Members of the National Honor Society at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé are holding a donation drive for clothing items for patrons of the Glory Hall, taking donations each Wednesday.
“They wanted to be able to give back, to get a service project in, and they’re doing a great job,” said Jennifer Knaggs, the honor society faculty adviser, in a phone interview. “The biggest thing for this is that the kids are doing it themselves. I just made one poster and approve the things they put on Instagram.”
Service projects are a big part of the National Honor Society, Knaggs said, but the pandemic has made it difficult to do the sort of public service projects the students would normally do.
[Four Juneau nonprofits receive grant aimed at curbing homelessness]
“This is the first communitywide project for the year. We’ve done projects within the school,” said JDHS senior and NHS President Kareena Bathija in a phone interview. “We’re trying our best, since it’s COVID. The homeless people in Juneau are the most vulnerable. We called the homeless shelter and saw what kind of things they needed.”
Students will work in shifts each Wednesday, accepting donations inside the front doors of JDHS, until Dec.10, when they’ll turn the donations over to the Glory Hall, Knaggs said. The drive is aimed specifically at getting new socks, hats, gloves and underwear, as these items are needed most, Bathija said.
“As their adviser, I’m so proud of them for coming up with service projects that they can,” Knaggs said. “They all are giving back to their community, not just their school community.”
Courtesy photo / Jennifer Knaggs Members of the National Honor Society at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé pose with containers of donated clothing.
The students voiced their enthusiasm for being able to help.
“Through this clothing drive, we are able to give back to our community, especially to those that are in a more vulnerable state,” said JDHS senior and NHS vice president Anna Wu in an email, “Giving the essentials to those who need it is important, as it’s getting colder and colder outside. I’m excited that the community wants to be involved, and not just us JDHS students, as seen by the positive interactions with our advertisements.”
As of Nov. 25, the drive had already received several tubs of donations. The drive is aiming to collect as much as they can, Bathija said.
“We didn’t have an expectation, honestly,” Bathija said. “There’s not a goal, just as much as we can possibly get.”
The JDHS NHS has also been holding peer tutoring for other students and a blood drive in which they met their goals, Knaggs said.
Every little bit helps
The NHS is accepting donations between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the front doors of JDHS on Wednesday Dec. 2 and Dec. 9. Preferred donations are new hats, gloves, socks and underwear.
• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at (757) 621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.
