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AF teen collecting hats for homeless
Comments 0 | Recommend 0The Valley may still be feeling the effects of raging summer heat but one Ahwatukee Foothills teenager is already beginning her quest to keep homeless people warm once winter rolls around.
In what she is calling "Hats for Humanity," Lauren Rodrick and her friend Bridget Manning will collect as many hats as they can before the Thanksgiving weekend and pass them out to homeless shelters across the Valley.
"I got to thinking about what makes homeless people cold," Lauren said. "I realized that you loose most of your body heat through your head and feet."
Lauren and Bridget, both students at St. John Bosco Interparish School, have put together a plan on ways to collect donations from Valley residents.
Lauren said she has already sent out letters requesting the clearance to put up a collection booth outside local grocery stores and has fundraisers in mind for her school.
St. John Bosco students are required to do community service hours before completing eighth grade. Lauren's idea is already making a big splash at her school.
"It is overwhelming to see a 13-year-old take such an initiative to help people," St. John Bosco's Principal Shelley Connor said. "What's amazing is her compassion. We are definitely supporting her every step of the way."
Lauren said she is trying to put together a "crazy hat" day in which students at St. John Bosco can bring in a dollar or a used, clean hat and they get to wear one of their own. The school also has a "Denim Dollar Day" and students can wear jeans if they donate a dollar.
In the past "Denim Dollar Day" has gone to specific charities, according to Connor, but in light of "Hats for Humanity," it may be changed so that students can donate a hat to Lauren's cause in order to wear jeans.
"We choose a different recipient every month," Connor said. "We're still in the brainstorming phase. But it's a huge project and we are very proud."
The project will officially kick off this Sunday, Aug. 31, at St. Benedict's Catholic Church in Ahwatukee Foothills.
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