November Blog: Expressing Our Gratitude

As November rolls around we’ve entered a cold season where every coat collected and warm meal distributed can change someone’s life. To support our vulnerable neighbors during fall, PILTer Josephine hosted a coat drive at Albert Einstein Academy Charter Elementary School. The drive was a huge success with all the donations going to PATH’s clients and youth at Sharia’s Closet. However, the more help, the merrier! Please consider joining our cause and setting up your own drive. It would allow us to address a larger area and make a bigger impact.

Thank you to all of the PILTers who have helped by setting up their own drive, raising awareness through a creative project, cooking and serving warm meals at PATH Connections, raising funds through sales to create care kits, managing the GoFundMe, and more. This Thanksgiving, PILT would like to thank our advisors for supporting us with our projects and keeping PILT running. Thank you for introducing us to change-makers and allowing us to create relationships with others to connect like-minded organizations, businesses, schools, clubs, and individuals and unite for our common goal — to end homelessness. We’d also like to give our thanks to our donors. Thank you so much for your donations, whether that is through our drives, at club events, or to our GoFundMe. Thank you to parents for supporting your kids with PILT endeavors, especially with transportation and opening up your schedule! Our gratitude goes to PATH who’ve allowed us to use their facilities to come together as a team and do services, such as dinner services, clothing cabinet services, and celebrations in their rooftop garden. And lastly, thank you to our Executive Committee and our website and social media managers who donate their time to community service.

This month, Interact Club and Community Outreach Club at San Diego High made hygiene care kits that they donated to McGill School of Success. The donations and donors (Minori, Aya, and Mrs. Brown) were met with kindness and gratitude and were given a tour of the school. San Diego High PILTers plan to continue supporting the school and its students. Minori, Aya, and Mrs. Kamimura-Groene (Minori’s mom) also donated the clothing accumulated through the clothing drive at SDHS to Monarch School.

At the end of October, Josephine at AEACES presented on community engagement to her peers to raise awareness about homelessness and how to help as youth. Our newer elementary PILTer, Sarah, participated in a holiday craft fair with all the proceeds for her 3D designs going to PILT to fund our projects just a few weeks ago.

This December, we have lots of fundraisers coming up, especially at San Diego High. The PILTers and Community Outreach Club members there will be hosting a bake sale and pizza sale with proceeds going to donating toys to McGill School of Success, which has lots of low-income families and youth experiencing homelessness. Sophie is also planning a drive at Helix Charter High School for the winter. We will also be having dinner services at PATH Connections on the 12th and the 20th of December where PILT members, SDHS Community Outreach Club members, and MBHS Outreach Club members will meet to prepare and serve food to PATH’s clients.

Thank you and keep an eye out for next month’s blog and our posts on Instagram, X, and Facebook.

With lots of gratitude,

The PILT Team

— Minori