December 6 Care Packages + Recruitment Event
Hi friends,
As promised, here's more info about our December 6 Admissions Event!
Starting this Wednesday November 19, we'll be partnering with the incredible SOS Richmond on a donation drive supporting Richmond's unhoused population.
You can drop off donations in designated bins in the Garden Room through December 5.
Here's what SOS has told us are the most urgently needed items:
small first aid kits
hand sanitizer
batteries (or cell phone power banks)
warming items (hand warmers, socks, beanies, gloves)
protein bars
baby wipes
toiletries (toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, shaving cream, etc.)
On December 6 the TLC has a wonderful Info Session planned for prospective families, with alumni invited to present and our kids doing demos of their work in the classrooms.
When the teacher's event is over, that's where we come in!
We'll have some hot cider and cocoa, some cookies and snacks, and the SOS "blessing bag" project will be all set up for current and future families to work on alongside each other. Each family will get bags to decorate and fill with all the items donated during the drive.
Can you help?
bring food/drinks
help set up / clean up
donate
make a "blessing bag"
charm a prospective family
The first two will earn you at least one Community Hour. The rest is purely auramaxxing. Please email marketing@crestmontschool.org to sign up and get your Community Hours.
SCHEDULE
Saturday December 6
10:00am: Meet the Teachers event begins
10:15am: Set up food, drinks, art supplies, bags, donations
10:50am: Teachers bring the crowd to the project area
11:00am: Decorating, bagging, noshing, chatting with prospective families
noonish: Wrap up
Here's an educational piece SOS Richmond sent us:
Homelessness happens when crisis stacks on crisis, and there’s no backup plan left. No one chooses to live in a tent or a car — folks are surviving the only way they can.
Being homeless means living in survival mode 24/7. You’re watching your stuff, watching your back, trying to stay warm, dry, fed, and connected with a phone that may lose power at any moment. Small problems become emergencies fast — a stolen bag, a lost ID, a bad night of sleep.
Most people aren’t “out there” because they want to be; they’re out there because they ran out of places to land.
When someone walks into the Warm Hand Wellness Center at SOS Richmond, the first thing they receive is care. The SOS team — who have lived experience with homelessness — greet each person with kindness, conversation, and (if available) a Blessing Bag filled with essentials.
For unhoused neighbors, these items meet immediate needs like warmth, hygiene, light, and hunger. But more importantly, a Blessing Bag sends a message of dignity and care. It says:
• You are seen
• You deserve safety and comfort
• You are part of our community
Your participation in this project helps the SOS team begin trusted relationships that can launch a path to long-term wellness, stability, and hope. Thank you for helping create pathways to care.
