In hopes of bringing joy to families who are going through challenging times, members of the new Spreading Hopes and Smiles Club are making items to donate through hands-on activities.
The Hays family started the organization that the club stemmed from after dealing with their own struggles with their daughter Abbie. They decided it was a good idea to incorporate into the high school.
According to advisor Jennifer Granito, the organization and club has a common goal of helping families with kids who have struggles in the early stages of life.
“Abbie was born with some difficulties at birth. It is a very stressful time when you have a baby and you have complications to start,” Granito said.
“They also had another friend who had a baby who also had complications, and both moms came together, and now give back to other women and babies with families that are having difficulties in the early stages of having children.”
For sophomore Carlie Hays, the club is important to support the community.
“This club is mostly about helping around the community and raising money for smaller foundations,” Hays said. “It is also about spreading awareness to kids in need and spreading kindness around with the activities that we do.”
Many people experience struggles throughout their lifetime and the little things can make a big difference to people.
“The purpose is to tell people that everyone does matter and everyone has a struggle in life,” Hays said. “If you just smile at someone, that can make their day and that small gesture can really turn someone’s day around.
Hays also believes that “spreading a little bit of kindness” in different ways can make the biggest difference for those that need it most.
The club members use every meeting as an opportunity to create something in order to give back.
“They made the hot chocolate packets with marshmallows and included that with the collected hats and gloves for the keystone opportunity center which is in our community,”Granito said. “The previous meeting we did melted heart crayons and donated them to kids at CHOP.”
According to freshman Siobbhan Hays, giving back to the community creates a space for struggling families to know there are people that are willing to help.
“I think this club definitely helps the people who are struggling, especially the children who obviously do not want to be in the place that they are at,” Hays said. “We want to show them that there are people out there who care about them and definitely the parents who also are struggling.”
According to Carlie, her favorite thing about the club is Abbie because of her “contagious smile.”