ABOUT
GARY GIVES
MISSION
VISION & HISTORY.
MISSION: To create opportunities for children to actively engage and participate in the act of giving to other children who are experiencing homelessness and/or family hardship.
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VISION: Aware of the silent crisis of homelessness, Gary Gives "Kid-Givers" actively express compassion and empathy for peers and neighbors by assembling care packages for all in need. Gary Gives envisions active and open dialogue between parents, guardians, and children, to raise awareness that periods of misfortune may occur and offer ourselves as a resource. Through open communication, Gary Gives desires to reinforce the importance of kindness, compassion, and empathy to everyone experiencing these unfortunate real world conditions; especially children. Emotional awareness and mental health wellbeing are nurtured by Gary Gives with positive affirmations, praise, discipline, and lots of love!
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HISTORY: Gary Gives was birthed through the vision of Whitney Harris, a 30 year-old Black woman and mother residing in San Diego, CA. In December 2017, Whitney decided to teach her then five year-old son, Gary, about how "Santa" isn't always able to visit all the children across the world. Gary knew his mommy worked helping people experiencing homelessness to find homes, but Whitney had been trying to come up with an idea for Gary to have a clearer image of how that looked.
With the holiday approaching, Whitney decided to clean out all of Gary's old toys to make room for the new ones before Christmas. He had a hard time just throwing them away, as he felt they were still good toys that he could play with (even the broken ones, lol!). Whitney suggested that they find some kids that don't have a home for Santa to visit and give them the old toys. Gary was reluctant at first, but eventually warmed up to the idea.
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Days later, a few of Whitney's coworkers saw the bags in her car during a lunch run and she told them what she and Gary planned on doing the following weekend. Word spread and they received nearly $300 in monetary donations. As a result, she and Gary put together over 60 "hygiene kits" and 40 snack bags! Saturday, December 23, 2017, marked the first official Gary Gives event.
Whitney drove to Downtown San Diego, where the homeless population reached over 9,000 that year and ranked 4th in the nation according to the Regional Task Force on the Homeless. She and Gary met up with other kids and their families who came out to join Gary and give away their toys too! This was just the beginning of Gary Gives planning to create "kid-giving" events year round!
