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Youth group donates to charity
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Posted on Nov 22 2004
Wishing to make Thanksgiving a more meaningful occasion, about 30 young individuals from the Garapan Youth Learning Center began a food drive earlier this month, soliciting and collecting canned goods that would be donated to a charity of their choice.
The food drive, which began on Nov. 8 and ended last Friday, resulted in the collection of 72 canned goods and a sack of rice from 16 families. The foodstuffs were donated yesterday to the Guma Esperanza.
“Not a lot of us are lucky enough to have money to buy this food,” said 11-year-old Aderwyn Gomez. “My mother always told me that it’s better to give than to receive, and I feel good knowing that I can share my blessings with other people.”
Gomez said the selection of Guma Esperanza was based on the group’s feeling toward assisting battered women. During a voting process, majority of the group favored donating the foodstuffs to the American Red Cross but were told that ARC does not accept canned good donations. Guma Esperanza received the second most votes, while the Juvenile Detention Unit was third.
“The people there need help with food,” Gomez said. “We wanted to give the canned goods to all three organizations, but that wasn’t possible, so we voted. It is alright because we could at least help those battered women and children.”
Program coordinator Mary Ann Lizama said the group annually holds Thanksgiving drives, with this year being the third drive relating to the holiday.
The group is also preparing for an upcoming Christmas caroling visits. They also participate in beach cleanups every first Saturday of the month.
