On Tuesday, October 11, two students from the Community Service Elective, Sophia Brancato '27and Lia Nnenkwo '28, presented a grant application for the Swain Campus “Day of Joyful Giving” to the TeenWorks Board.

They received the full funding of $1,000.00, as well as a generous donation of another $200.00 from  from the Krysta Hankee Memorial Fund!!

TeenWorks is a board made up of teens and adults through United Way of the Lehigh Valley funded by labor unions in order to encourage and fund young, local applicants who want to better their communities. This year Community Service has partnered with Joyful Giving, a 501(c)(3) volunteer based non-profit organization that packages essential items that look and feel like gifts with the intention of creating joy. The elective hopes to bring the joy of making a difference to Swain by assembling joy maker bags with the entire school. There is a shared purpose for both the recipient and assembler of Joy Maker bags: GIVE JOY, GET JOY.

On November 22, the Community Service Elective will be running “Day of Joyful Giving” where every student and their buddy will make Joy Maker Bags together! The elective spent time learning about and researching different nonprofits that support youth in the Lehigh Valley and decided on a few where these bags will go, like Reilly Children’s Hospital and Promise Neighborhoods. The grant that the students presented asked to cover the cost of some of the essential items on this day, like pretzels, markers, chocolate, chapstick, and hand lotion, which were American and Union made products.

Joy Maker bags consist of different essential items based on the non-profit who will receive them. Below are pictures of examples of Joy Maker Bags. There are self care bags that go to organizations like Sixth Street Shelter, with socks, moisturizer, combs, tooth brush, tooth paste, hand warmers, and a snack, all contained within a zipped bag so the bag can be reused. Every bag contains a piece of chocolate and a bow. There are also activity bags for children that could go to an organization like the Crime Victims Council, where case workers can bring a small bag of joy to a child who may be in a high stress and anxiety situation.

Last year, middle school electives and 4th graders all became Joy Makers. Joy Maker is the name given to all Joyful Giving volunteers. Our Joy Makers made over 1,200 bags, kicking off this new non-profit! Since February, Joyful Giving has donated 2,500 Joy Maker bags to multiple non-profits in the community. Swain is responsible for about half of those bags! 

The money from TeenWorks does not cover the entire cost of Day of Joyful Giving, so we are running fundraisers within grade levels and during the fall theatrical performances to help raise the rest of the funds. Joyful Giving is a volunteer based nonprofit, and therefore every dollar collected goes immediately to the essential items and directly into the community. These fundraisers will take place over the next few weeks, so be on the lookout for how you can help!