Wareham Middle School, Student Philanthropists
By: Evelyn Chase, Grade 7
“Philanthropy is about promoting the welfare of others. That is exactly what the organization GiftsToGive is all about. I have been to GiftsToGive five times now and during every single group orientation tour they tell us “50,000”. Then one of us always asks the obvious question; 50,000 what?
It may be silly that I remember that number but I also remember what comes after it as well. 50,000 is the number of children living locally in poverty. This statement always gets to me. What this means is that one of your friends, that person you thought was odd on the bus, or even a complete stranger, could or is living in poverty. So hold on and let me explain a little bit more. The definition of poverty is the state of being extremely poor. And although I may be going a little bit off topic with this one, it is extremely important. Just because you may think you know everyone’s situation you really don’t and that is what GiftsToGive in my opinion promotes.
I decided to ask a few of my fellow grade seven classmates that were also on the trip and they had a few interesting points they would like to share. My first quote is from a grade 7 STEAM student Jenna Klemp, “Poverty basically means not being able to afford all the essential things in life. It would affect my overall life too. Meaning, that it would affect everything. Where I went to school, who my friends were, and what my life was like. I think that because it would change everything I did because of how much everything costs and what others saw in me as well.”
Hannah Schultze another grade 7 STEAM student said, “I like this place because it is fun and I like helping people and seeing people happy and making a difference in the world. And that is what GiftsToGive helps me do.” Brigid Irving a grade 7 Humanities student stated, “I love it. I love what it’s doing for the people in need. How it gives toys to kids and-clothing to kids in poverty.” What these girls had to say can be taken in many different ways but what all three of them signified was that because of this foundation they are able to help in a way they never could before. Roughly 25 students went on the trip plus 3 chaperones. We were there for 4 hours and all together we volunteered for 108 hours. Our Student Council has gone on 2 trips this school year and have also came in the past and do not intend to stop.
We enjoy ourselves every time we go to GiftsToGive and if you’re reading this, you should get involved too!”