The Mother's Trust Foundation

My mom has worked with the Mother's Trust Foundation for a long time. It is an organization out of Lake Forest that raises money and collects donations to give to underpriviledged families. A few years ago the organization opened up a teen section to contribute to donations and fundraisers. I began volunteering with them last year. Every year, the teen section runs a coat drive in December and a baby item drive in the Spring. As the only memer who lives in Long Grove, I opened up my own sector of the teen drive. Last Saturday I completed the spring drive, dropping off a toyota highlander full of items collected from various locations around Long Grove and Buffalo Grove, including St. Mary's Church, Reverie Dance Academy, and the Peppermint Stick. The items collected for this drive were donated to mothers in Lake and Cook County who had children between teh ages of 0-2 years old who are unable to provide for their children. Although I wasn't able to meet the mothers and children receiving this aid, the amazing thing about our coat drive is that I am able to meet the families receiving the winter apparrel items.
In the winter coat drive, what really was amazing to me was the gratitude I saw from people of all ages. I witnessed young girls jump with excitement when they saw a dirty, old pair of boots and warm, dry socks. Although I am not in a great inancial situation, especially compared to the majority of Stevenson, I was really able to gain a new perspective overwhat I do have. Most of the people there were people of color and the teenagers I saw probably went to a bad high school. Unlike me, who has the opportunity, drive, and support to work hard in my jobs and in school, they have very different support systems and role models. I really, really enjoyed this experience, meeting people of all different ages, races, ethnicities, and religions. People of all different walks of life who ended up in the same situation. It is really worth the hard hours and multiple phone calls to find places that will hold change and collection jars.