2008 Woodie Awards
Holiday board games drive boredom from homeless
Sarah Mugavero
Issue date: 12/6/07 Section: Features
- Page 1 of 1
The holiday season is here and many are shopping for the perfect gifts for friends and family; this holiday add the homeless and less fortunate to your shopping list.
The social work club is conducting a drive until Dec. 7 to collect board games for the Prospect House, a homeless shelter in Bridgeport.
"The shelter only has two games and a television, and now that it is getting colder there are many more people staying indoors," said club advisor Annette Bailey.
With the low amount of activities, socialization is lost within the shelters.
"I am an intern and volunteer at Prospect House and know some of the troubles the homeless people have to go through," said senior Heidi Marine.
Some homeless people are completely alone, the little joy they receive is playing games with someone else.
"Socialization is extremely important and the shelter really promotes positive social interaction," said Bailey.
The club's members are dedicated on and off campus.
"I have worked at other shelters and everyday I would see different homeless people, but some I have recognized for a really long time and others were new faces," said senior Sarah Menard.
Some people may have their minds made up about shelters, but experiencing it is a completely different story.
"There are the stereotypes that homeless people smell bad, are dirty, and do not want to work, which for most of the time is not the case," said Bailey.
"One person could have had everything a regular middle class person did, undergo a horrible experience, such as a fire, and are now homeless."
Residents in shelters love to have interaction, this is where students are needed the most.
"We are hoping that any student, club, or any organization at Sacred Heart can get together, even if it is one from each different club, and donate new board games," said senior Jacquelyn DePierro.
The social work club is hoping for a great turn out and have plans if they receive more games then needed.
"If there are too many games for the one shelter we will greatly bring them to other shelters who need them," said Bailey.
The holiday season makes money tight, but there are ways to work around this.
"If students do not have extra money to buy the new game they could maybe start a group effort and have everyone in the group pay a little bit," said DePierro.
"It might seem small but it has a great impact on the people, it is the simple little efforts that count."
Students can donate to any social work student or drop them off to Annette Bailey's office in the administration building.
Donating the games to the people at the shelters makes the long hours of their day seem a bit shorter.
The social work club is conducting a drive until Dec. 7 to collect board games for the Prospect House, a homeless shelter in Bridgeport.
"The shelter only has two games and a television, and now that it is getting colder there are many more people staying indoors," said club advisor Annette Bailey.
With the low amount of activities, socialization is lost within the shelters.
"I am an intern and volunteer at Prospect House and know some of the troubles the homeless people have to go through," said senior Heidi Marine.
Some homeless people are completely alone, the little joy they receive is playing games with someone else.
"Socialization is extremely important and the shelter really promotes positive social interaction," said Bailey.
The club's members are dedicated on and off campus.
"I have worked at other shelters and everyday I would see different homeless people, but some I have recognized for a really long time and others were new faces," said senior Sarah Menard.
Some people may have their minds made up about shelters, but experiencing it is a completely different story.
"There are the stereotypes that homeless people smell bad, are dirty, and do not want to work, which for most of the time is not the case," said Bailey.
"One person could have had everything a regular middle class person did, undergo a horrible experience, such as a fire, and are now homeless."
Residents in shelters love to have interaction, this is where students are needed the most.
"We are hoping that any student, club, or any organization at Sacred Heart can get together, even if it is one from each different club, and donate new board games," said senior Jacquelyn DePierro.
The social work club is hoping for a great turn out and have plans if they receive more games then needed.
"If there are too many games for the one shelter we will greatly bring them to other shelters who need them," said Bailey.
The holiday season makes money tight, but there are ways to work around this.
"If students do not have extra money to buy the new game they could maybe start a group effort and have everyone in the group pay a little bit," said DePierro.
"It might seem small but it has a great impact on the people, it is the simple little efforts that count."
Students can donate to any social work student or drop them off to Annette Bailey's office in the administration building.
Donating the games to the people at the shelters makes the long hours of their day seem a bit shorter.
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