Page 6 - FebMarHER

6 FEB HER
HER Feature
the 501 (c)(3), they took them out. That was our push in the right di- rection; that invisible line is gone,” she said.
The organization’s first undertak- ing is what Howard calls a “Kids Give Back” event held by the Mountain Pine School District. Through dona- tions, fundraising, and even money out of her own pocket, Howard hosted the event and provided every student within the district with items they may have needed.
“We got every kid that goes to school in Mountain Pine backpacks, we had clothes, and over 400 pairs of
brand-new shoes,” she said.
Since then, Mountain Pine Street
Reach has hosted bingo nights for adults, a haunted mill for children in the community around Halloween, and other activities geared toward community building and giving chil- dren in the area outlets intended to divert them from getting into trou- ble. Howard said the organization has already begun work on their next project, renovating a vacant build- ing to make a community center that Mountain Pine students can go to after school each day.
“We need a place kids can come
after school desperately. We want to be able to offer help with homework and be on the food program where we can at least offer them dinner. Some of these kids, when they leave school, that is the last meal they get,” she said.
“As far as our older kids, we want to do something like home econom- ics. Teach them some basic life skills like taxes, how to cook, how to wash clothes, and everything else. And I say it’s to teach them how to wash clothes, but it’s to really make sure they have a place to clean their clothes for school because many of them don’t.”
Howard’s work in the community has not gone unnoticed. With each event, Howard says the number of volunteers just grows. Even her chil- dren began to follow suit and started to donate their time and resources to the community.
“I see them wanting to give more. For example, my son asked for cart money today. He could have asked for one dollar for himself but instead, he wanted to get enough to buy him and about four of his friends something. I also see them doing a lot of giving when we go down the street and see somebody homeless,” she said.
“They’re like, ‘Mom, do we have any of the Ziploc bags?’ because we
normally carry around Ziploc bags that have pads, lotions, deodorant, soaps, and even gift certificates to food restaurants and stuff like that. So when they see people that are home- less or people who are less fortunate, they are so quick to give.”
However, with the support, How- ard has also faced some backlash from a small portion of the community. Still, she says her motto is to ‘keep on driv- in” and continue making a difference in the community. And she has big plans in store for the future.
“ ... Just to see the smiles on every- body’s face is what keeps me driving. It keeps me going to know that they appreciate it even though I have a few that don’t. That’s OK, but the majority do (appreciate it). That’s all that mat- ters to me,” she said.
For now, Howard said she focused on the bright future she feels Moun- tain Pine has the potential to reach. With work on the after school com- munity center underway and more fun activities in store for the community as a whole, Howard sees no end in sight.
“My goal is for the nonprofit to be totally grant funded so that it can be a free service to these kids out here. I would rather them not pay anything.
6 FEB/MAR 2020 ¯ HER MAGAZINE