Field Trip to Cape May Zoo
the problem:
We were serving the Atlantic City Rescue Mission, which is a homeless shelter in Atlantic City. More than 600,000 families and 1.35 million children experience homelessness in America! Domestic Violence is the most prevalent cause of homelessness for women and families. The Atlantic City Rescue Mission serves over 3000 homeless people each year and houses over 225 men and single women with children each night.
vital stats:
people impacted:
24people involved:
0why it's important:
It was a little chilly that day outside the supermarket. Our group, “Helping 100,” a service learning club made up of students from grades 8-11, was collecting items for our “iCare” packages for the homeless population in our area. Excitement and satisfaction infused our little suburban, middle class group as our carts filled up with donated items and we knew we were going to fill those 100 backpacks that we purchased with our YSA grant. Wow, we were really “doing” something. Then something changed us, hopefully forever. A lady came up to us, she was empty handed, no toothpaste, no shampoo, but dressed with a smile. She quietly said, “Thank you. I was homeless just a year ago, people need people. It is nice to see you doing this. Here are a few dollars; maybe it will help someone like it helped me.” She walked away.
We were all there for different reasons, some selfish – like community service looks good on your college transcript. The lady’s statement made us realize that our efforts were really helping someone and that someone would help others, paying it forward. Her statements made it real. We knew we had to do more than sit at a supermarket and collect items for the homeless, we now wanted to “know” what we could do for the people suffering almost incomprehensible destitution.
Now our group cooks meals, serves lunch and talks to the administrators at the Atlantic City Rescue Mission. “What more can we do?” we asked.
One lady, who works with the mothers and children who are homeless, teaching reading, writing, etc., said, “My biggest wish is for our children to experience happy moments – like field trips. Everyone remembers their school field trips, especially when their parents chaperoned. I’d like our families here to experience the same thing.” She told us that these memories “stick.” “Hopefully, when they look back at their childhood, a fun trip with their mom will be what they remember, not this shelter.”
So, that is what we did. The Do Something Grant funded one of our field trips. Five hundred dollars will be plenty to transport our homeless families from the Atlantic City Rescue Mission to the Cape May Zoo and provide a picnic lunch for them. There are about twenty-four women and children (all the shelter has room for) every day at the mission, some of them have fathers staying is a separate area.
The Zoo is free, but absolutely beautiful. The animals are well kept in large, lush areas that make the viewer excited and happy to see such amazing creatures. The zoo has anenormous playground area where the children can run and play, a vastly different experience from their city shelter where their play area is concrete, fenced in and 12’x18’.
Helping 100 began as part of the Tiger Woods service learning club and plans to build connections to the community in ways that illuminate an important social issue – homelessness.
the plan of action:
We wrote a Do Something Grant to pay for a trip to the Zoo for 24 homeless women and children from the AC Rescue Mission.