LYNN — Ten-year-old Aniya Andrade has raised more than $1,400 to provide sleeping bags and backpacks to the homeless.
Wednesday, Aniya and her mother, Ashley Spina will distribute 60 backpacks filled with sleeping bags and socks to homeless people in Lynn and Boston, but that won’t be the end of Aniya’s charitable effort.
She plans to keep raising funds until Jan. 1 through a gofundme page that her mother set up for the fundraiser. Spina said their hope is to collect another $1,200, which would be enough to purchase another 60 sleeping bags and backpacks for the local homeless community.
In less than a week’s time, Aniya had far exceeded the $500 goal that Spina set for the gofundme page, which was posted last Monday.
“I feel proud and I’m happy that we raised more than our goal,” said Aniya, who attends Hood Elementary School in Lynn and decided to name her fundraiser “Sweet Dreams.”
Spina, 34, said her daughter began thinking about how she could help the homeless last winter. As the pair often takes public transportation when they go to spend time in Boston, they will typically see homeless people in their travels, some of whom can be found sleeping on the underpass.
“She wanted to be able to help the people we see at the subway and we see downtown when we go to Boston Common to hang out for the day,” said Spina, adding that Aniya was also inspired to help out because she saw some of her family members become homeless.
“It’s because when I go places, I see people sleeping out on the street and I feel bad for them,” Aniya added. “I felt like if we did this we would help people.”
Initially, Aniya had been thinking about trying to raise funds to purchase blankets for the homeless, but opted to go with her mother’s suggestion, which was to provide them with sleeping bags.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic put a damper on Aniya’s initial fundraising plans, which were set to include lemonade stands and yard sales. So, Spina said she decided to put her daughter to work, by enlisting her to help the family’s babysitter, who takes care of her son.
Through that effort, Aniya was able to raise $70 toward her goal, but it quickly became apparent that a larger effort was needed to purchase the sleeping bags, which can be quite expensive, Spina said. Only three sleeping bags could have been purchased with that $70, she said.
“She got a little discouraged,” said Spina. “I didn’t want her to feel like her efforts weren’t going to be what she had hoped for.”
Spina made the decision to start a gofundme page, telling her daughter that she had inspired her by opting to save the money she had earned, rather than spending it, which is rare for someone at such a young age. By the next day at 3 p.m., they had already doubled their $500 goal with the posted fundraiser, she said.
“She was just overwhelmed all day,” said Spina, who contacted a company that helps homeless shelters across the country, which sells bundles at a discounted price so people can do similar donation efforts.
“They gave me a discount for the sleeping bags,” she said. “I was able to purchase 60 sleeping bags and backpacks to put the sleeping bags in. Unfortunately, (for the homeless), this is their livelihood so they carry everything with them. They can put their sleeping bags and other resources inside the backpacks.”
In addition, Spina said one of her friends was so inspired by their story that he went to Walmart to purchase socks, which will be included in each backpack.
Aniya has even inspired her peers to help, said Spina, noting that her daughter, son and Aniya’s best friend put the bundles together last week. Parents of Aniya’s classmates have been calling asking if their children can help with the effort next year, she said.
Aniya’s friends are going to help her with the second batch of sleeping bags and backpacks, which Spina will purchase with whatever funds are raised through the gofundme page by Jan. 1.
“I feel good about it because that means more people want to help,” said Aniya in regards to inspiring other kids her age.
Since food pantries and other similar establishments tend to take care of the homeless community on Thanksgiving, Spina and Aniya will be handing out their bundles this Wednesday, Spina said.
“She is really overjoyed,” said Spina. “I think it happened all so fast so she was just amazed at how quickly she was able to raise the money through the gofundme. Within a week, I didn’t expect it to go that fast. We planned on getting it out by Jan. 1. The fact that we already have 60 to hand out is a blessing all in itself.”
To donate to Aniya’s fundraiser, visit her gofundme page.
