By Virginia Krueger
Chelsea District Library (CDL) and the Chelsea High School Interact Club collaborated to help homeless teens in Washtenaw County. While the holiday season is joyous for many kids and teens, for those with housing insecurity, it can be a period of anxiety. The Teen Supply Drive aims to eliminate anxiety surrounding personal care by collecting a variety of health and hygiene supplies to directly benefit Ozone House in its ongoing mission to address youth and teen homelessness.
The library has hosted an annual supply drive to benefit Ozone House since 2010. With the addition of Mobile CDL to library services, the idea of bringing the bookmobile to this population added a new twist and opportunity to grow the project. In an effort to involve service-minded teens, CDL reached out to Chelsea High School (CHS) as a potential partner. It was a natural fit for CHS Interact Club, a student Rotary service club that focuses on helping people in our school and in our community, raising money and awareness about homelessness.
Supplies were collected throughout December at the library and each Chelsea School building. Students gathered at the library to sort and package the collected items and load them onto the library’s bookmobile, Mobile CDL, for delivery to Ozone House. Teen Librarian Stacey and Tech Specialist Everett delivered items along with a special collection of books for the Ozone House library. Stacey shares, “Every year, I’m amazed by the overwhelming generosity of the Chelsea community. From donating boxes and bags of supplies, to the Interact Club devoting their time to help us collect, sort, and load Mobee, it’s clear that the people of Chelsea care for others greatly.” CDL & CHS Interact Club thank all who participated!
About Ozone House: Helping homeless teens since 1969, Ozone House is dedicated to helping young people lead safe, healthy, and productive lives through intensive intervention and prevention services.
8123 Main St Suite 200 Dexter, MI 48130
