Lynn’s Sacred Heart youth donate backpacks to needy

LYNN – High school student Cayla Hally of Lynn got a life lesson while handing out backpacks to the homeless in downtown Boston.Hally and other members of the Sacred Heart Parish youth group helped collect donated backpacks and distributed them last week as part of a community service project.”When I was passing out backpacks for the homeless project, it was a little heartbreaking at first. But it was also amazing to see their reaction and how you could tell how much they appreciate something that’s so small to us, but to them it’s huge,” she said in a press release. “It opened up my eyes to see how much we take for granted nowadays and it was just an amazing experience that I’m proud to say I was a part of.”Janelle Way, another youth group member, learned it’s wise to cherish what you have.”You don’t know what you have until it’s gone. Be thankful for what you have in your life and don’t take things for granted,” she said in a press release.Richard Madaglia, coordinator of Sacred Heart’s Youth Ministry, said the high school students gathered backpacks from donors and stuffed them with socks, hand and feet warmers, gloves, hats, paper and pens, envelopes, books, toiletries and other items. “We went to Boston on this trip, to the Common and to the side streets in the area, and gave out the bags to the needy,” he said. “We have a second group that will drop off bags at My Brother’s Table when we finish the second collection. It’s something we have been doing for 11 years.”Madaglia said the youth group has planned nursing home visits but will continue to collect socks and backpacks for Lynn’s needy and deliver them in about a month.”The Boston trip plan started several weeks ago by brainstorming on ideas of how to help our homeless brothers and sisters in this extremely cold and snowy winter,” he said, noting the students included packed lunches and a personalized letters of affirmation into each of the 51 backpacks.Elementary grade students at Sacred Heart School also got involved in the project. Many brought in new or used backpacks and warm socks that were donated to the youth group program.”They were very generous,” said Principal Joanne Eagan. “Some of them barely have a backpack for themselves, but their families found a way to donate one. Last year, we had a sock drive to benefit Boston Health Care for the Homeless and collected 1,000 pairs of socks. Every day we would count them.”