Holidays can be a tough time of year for youth experiencing homelessness. They can evoke feelings of rejection and isolation. This is often true especially so for LGBTQ youth whom may be experiencing homelessness because of who they are.
Fortunately, 3M and their Pride ERGs stepped in this year to make sure every young person in the ConneQT Host Home program felt the robust community support with personal holiday gifts. Each young person filled out a wish list identifying items they could use, their hobbies and passions, favorite colors and clothing size. Over two dozen 3M employees pooled together and purchased all the gifts and then some for the youth in this program. 3M even hosted their own wrapping event on campus, meaning all we at Avenues had to do was deliver them to each young person.
Thank you to Shane, Heather, and Stephen for leading this effort and thank you to everyone at 3M for sharing your resources, time, and your heart with this community. You make this organization a success and help the youth on their journey to housing and their hopes.