Eighteen individuals from the Boys & Girls Club in Prince William participated in giving Thanksgiving meals and warm clothing to people in need.
The 18 are part of the club’s Achieving Career & College Excellence (ACCE) program.
“It was a program that was started by Martin Alloy, who was a strong sponsor of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manassas. So it’s a college prep and STEM and STEAM-related (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math) initiative,” said Heiser Boys & Girls Club Program Director Regi Ratliff.
The ACCE group meets twice a week for college and career preparation, and participated in a supersession before heading to Graham Park Middle School in Triangle to volunteer.
While the donations were collected and organized by non-profits and the Prince William County Department of Social Services, the students were able to hand out the donations, according to Ratliff.
“There was a long line of individuals and families there,” Ratliff said, noting that the group helped around 300 families in total.
“The Boys & Girls Club – our purpose is to be a safe haven for our youth who are out in the community. Some of our youth are in those circumstances where they have need for items such as food for Thanksgiving, and just food on a daily basis, as well as clothing items. As a staff person I recognized several families,” said Ratliff.
According to Ratliff, the activity was a way to instill giving back into the upcoming generation, as they grow in the community.
