Photo courtesy Metro Creative
This holiday season, the Lake Highlands Area Moms Against Racism group is banding the community together to get books and other gifts to children in the neighborhood.
The Facebook group has adopted 10 “angels,” or seventh through eighth graders, at Forest Meadow Junior High School to get their needs taken care of and purchase wish list items.
Extra donation funds LHAMAR receives will go towards adopting more angels at Forest Meadow, said group admin Lowry Manders.
“We learned that Forest Meadow always has extra angels that are not adopted, and the teachers usually end up taking care of that,” Manders said. “In a year when the teachers have been expected to do so much, we don’t want them to also have to take on providing for the angels like they usually do.”
The group handed out baskets with diverse books, materials and toys last month and will continue this effort by delivering diverse books again this holiday season.
“We’re just adopting all the third graders at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School here in the Lake Highlands area,” Manders said.
Manders said she hopes donors will also purchase diverse books for the children in their lives.
LHAMAR is also collecting funds to gift teachers something special this year, she said.
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to cause stress for many, Manders said LHAMAR wanted to do its part to ease the burden— especially for Black and Brown families disproportionately affected by the virus, she said.
“We just know there are more of those families hurting and in need and losing jobs and not able to pay rent, so this is just one way to support them,” Manders said. “These are people in our community. This is one way to focus on the children for the holidays.”
The group hopes to collect all funds and donations before Dec. 11 to ensure gifts get to students and teachers before holiday break. Here’s how you can help:
- General giving for Forest Meadow angels, books and teacher gifts
- Signup to order/shop for a specific angel gift or to sign up to take care of item(s) from an angel’s wish list
- Selecting a book for a student at Thurgood Marshall and for a child in your life. Books from the diversity list will also go to seventh and eighth grade angels.
