Boxes of gifts for Operation Hope have been overflowing at Hutchinson schools.
As the high school and middle school REACH programs worked this holiday season to gather donations of sleeping bags, thermal socks, jackets, coats and plenty more that could help homeless people in Minneapolis, many chipped in. Families, teachers and others throughout the community donated items.
With drop off locations set at Hutchinson High School and Hutchinson Middle School, two additional boxes were added to handle all the additional donations at the middle school.
“It was honestly just a community event,” said REACH director Chad Harlander said Dec. 22. “Everybody seemed to step up and seemed to make contributions. All three boxes were overfilled. ... Just yesterday — we had closed the event Monday — we had a student walk in and say, ‘This is from the Hutchinson Fire Department.’ And they did a cash donation. It was communitywide. People stepped up.”
REACH — which represents relationships, education, accountability, character and hard work — was formed at Hutchinson schools to offer students academic, social and emotional support. It’s a voluntary intervention program with a team of educators and mental health/chemical health support. The program helps students develop skills necessary to become successful adults.
The REACH program connected to Operation Hope after students learned about it following a donation from the Chad Greenway Day to REACH football camp. It had pitched in to help Hutchinson Middle School teacher Jeff Schmidt with his work assisting homeless people. For years, he has made regular trips to Minneapolis to meet with homeless people, and he brings along food, hygiene supplies, warm clothes and more.
Earlier this month, Hutchinson Middle School Assistant Principal Michael McDowell had a chance to join Schmidt when he drove to Minneapolis to make deliveries.
“He had just sent out an invite to see if anyone was interested. I jumped on board, and went up with him and his son, Eric, last Saturday,” McDowell said. “He had a truckload of any essential that would be needed for these hard, cold winter months. We were loaded with everything from jackets to boots and blankets, to sleeping bags. We had extra food to get people through, just a whole assortment of things donated in past years and recently. He gets donations from a lot of sources, and purchases quite a few (items) as well.”
The group was in Minneapolis from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. that Saturday, a process Operation Hope has gone through since 2017. At each stop, Schmidt would seek out people he had worked with in the past, gather information, and invite them to approach the truck and pick out everything they needed.
“It was an eye-opening experience, just knowing that, No. 1, people were going through the winter months with so little,” McDowell said. “We were able to provide so much just offering a friendly conversation, but then giving them an opportunity to stock up. We ended up taking a small group just out to lunch at McDonald’s and provided a warm meal. We had also brought in, on our way to a couple sites, Taco Bell. ... We had Powerade to give to people as they came up to the truck.”
The experience made McDowell reflect on so many things that are taken for granted — even the knowledge that soon, after being in the cold handing out necessities, a warm truck awaits.
“Just by doing a small deed, a small task, a simple conversation and a warm cup of coffee and a warm meal, you find out we all have those needs,” McDowell said. “Not everyone has the things we consider conveniences of everyday life. It changed my perspective coming home.”
