Thousands Raised for Homeless Students

Reese Betton is a Junior at Patrick Henry High School
Reese Betton is a Junior at Patrick Henry High School

In the fall of 2015, after seeing an increase in homeless students, Roanoke City Public Schools started a Help the Homeless Fund. The school system used social media to ask for help. Reese Betton, a junior at Patrick Henry High School, saw the post on her Facebook timeline and suggested a t-shirt sale. Her idea received a number of “likes,” comments, and shares, catching the attention of the school system.

 Not long after the post, the wheels were in motion. Students from Patrick Henry and William Fleming High Schools came together to brainstorm on the t-shirt sale and other ideas. Reese and other students designed the shirts, while King Screen in Roanoke provided free printing.

The school system initially ordered 500 shirts and are selling them at various school-related activies. At $10 a pop, more than 300 have already been sold with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting the homeless students.

With shirt sales and out-of-pocket donations, the Help the Homeless Fund now stands at roughly $17,000. Hundreds of items, from coats to toothpaste, have also been donated.

A pilot program is now in the works with the city’s Homeless Assistance Team. According to the school system, an account will be set up to help homeless students’ families. The money will help families when they find permanent housing.

For more information about the shirts and the Help the Homeless Fund go to: http://www.rcps.info/cms/One.aspx?portalId=468655&pageId=7264466

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