Poverty On Long Island: How We're Helping Within Our Own Community (blog 6)

It's not surprising that there are poverty stricken families on Long Island. With New York's high taxes and high unemployment rates, it's hard to live and survive here. It is thought to be that New York (Long Island)  is one of the most expensive places to live throughout the nation.

But, with the holidays rapidly approaching, those around us need our help. For 7 years, the Eastport South Manor Central School District has hosted a plethora of food, clothing, and toiletries drives. This is most commonly known as Stuff-A-School.

Within the past several years, the Stuff-A-School project has helped many local families in need. This project has grown rapidly. With more than 30 school organizations coming together to help those in need for the holidays, a large amount of items are collected. From food, to prom dresses, to toys, to books, to toiletries, the Stuff-A-School fundraiser gets larger and larger.

One of the newest editions to the Stuff-A-School fundraiser is the Operation Prom and Play It Forward fundraisers, brought to you by the Class of 2015. Both of these organizations are geared to help young people our age enjoy the same privileges we do.

Operation Prom is a non-profit organization that provides free prom dresses to those that are less fortunate and the allow these people to enjoy their school proms. So far, the Class of 2015 has collected a large amount of formal dresses for this cause. This fundraiser is near to my heart because I know how much I enjoyed the proms I attended and would only want the same for other people around us.

Play It Forward is also a non-profit organization that helps provide gently used sports equipment to underprivileged children in need. Sports are a great way to have fun, make new friends, and exercise all at the same time and all children should have the opportunity to engage in these activities.

These are only two of many fundraisers that are available during the Stuff-A-School project. With these fundraisers, we can help those on Long Island enjoy the holidays with the gift of food, warmth, and happiness.