Teens Give Back

Part One:

            It is very important to lend a helping hand to people who are less fortunate. It instills good morals, it can place a positive perspective about our own lives, and it can make us grateful for what we do have.

The very first Teen Night of the year, Tuesday, January 11, 2022, our teenagers between the ages of 12 to 17 began a very important project - sleeping mats for the homeless.

What materials are needed for this project? Nothing too crazy. Only plastic grocery bags like the ones from Piggly Wiggly or Dollar General! That’s it. The crazy part isn’t that these mats can be made completely from grocery bags; it is the shocking number of bags needed to make one mat.

We had the teenagers take guesses on how many bags we would need to complete one mat and they did not disappoint.

“100?”

“200?”

“250?”

“No way it needs 300!”

When we told them that a single mat takes anywhere from 800 to 1,000 bags, they were wide-eyed and their jaws dropped. They made jokes about how it’s going to take them years to finish this project, but not a single teenager stopped cutting.

Why are we were using grocery bags instead of yarn? Plastic bags are easy to obtain, easy to clean, and best of all, they’re free. They conduct heat, are waterproof, and provide minimal padding so people can stay warm and dry on a cold, hard surface. In addition, by using the bags, we are recycling. That helps the planet and the homeless.

It was a very calm atmosphere as the teenagers did the prep work that included cutting the bags into sections. There was no measuring needed and only a few simple cuts on each bag. That’s it. Even the teens mentioned how easy it was and that they are happy they could help a person in need. The teens are ready to do whatever it takes to make these sleeping mats and we cannot wait to see the finished product in the future.

The next Teen Night that we will be continuing this project is on Tuesday, February 8, 2022 from 5 PM to 7 PM. If you missed the first meeting, don’t worry! We will catch you right up to speed so you can join us in this humbling experience of service to our community.