During the past several weeks the Emmett O’Brien Community has been focusing on the meaning of kindness, justice and courage.  Students, staff and families have been encouraged to participate in the “Do Something Kindness and Justice Challenge” initiative in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King.  This proved to be a phenomenal opportunity for Mrs. Francesca Ford’s seventh period English class.  The class set out to heighten their awareness of how to make a community successful and how to infuse kindness into our everyday experiences.

Mrs. Ford’s 7th period English Class decided to make a change in the lives of homeless teens.  When these young adults discovered that one out of three homeless people in the nation are under the age of 18, Mrs. Ford’s class contacted the Aeropostale Clothing Store located in the Connecticut Post Mall 1201 Boston Post Road Milford, CT and offered to work with the company on their successful Teens for Jeans program.

Posters, announcements, and classroom visits encouraged EOB students to go through their closets and bring any brand of gently worn jeans to school between January 22nd and February 10th to support homeless teens. Aeropostale has promised to donate 10,000 pairs of jeans to teen homelessness, and Mrs. Ford’s students enthusiastically participated in this nationwide event.

When the students dropped off the one hundred and three jeans at the Milford location, the company showed their appreciation by giving each student a coupon worth 20% off any of their products.  Samantha Bonilla Milford Assistant Manager was duly impressed with the students from Emmett.  She exclaimed, “Wow!  They made three trips with the jeans, and they were very enthusiastic and excited.  The students even wanted to buy more jeans just to donate. Their energy was very high.  It was amazing!”

The benefits received by participating in this program were best expressed by Junior Chris Wyant.  He said, “It was extremely exciting.  I was able to work alongside my fellow classmates in a community service project for the homeless where I discovered that it is actually better to give than to receive.”