The Villager Newspaper Online Your Community News – Cleveland's Westshore
A visit to her daughter in Scottsdale, Arizona, sparked a community service idea adopted by Westlake High School National Art Honor Society (NAHS) advisor Kelly Atkinson.
Atkinson, a WHS art teacher, and her brother, Brent Walla, were driving past Arizona State University when they passed a homeless man. Walla pulled over and grabbed a Ziploc bag filled with toiletries from his trunk and handed it to the man.
“It’s just something he does,” she said, adding that she thought it was pretty amazing and something she wanted to bring back to Ohio.
Using leftover fabric and supplies, 17 NAHS members created drawstring bags that are filled with toiletries the students donate. Revive Club, a Christian youth group at WHS, also provides toiletries for the bags.
This is the second year the NAHS is assembling the bags. Last year bags were donated to Laura’s Home Women’s Crisis Center at The City Mission of Cleveland.
“We like to give back to the community, and it’s something the kids are really interested in and excited about,” Atkinson said.
