Published on April 5, 2024; republished on October 20, 2024
By KAREN LAGRANGE COX
What started as a project to provide Christmas presents to homeless children in 2020 became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the Gifting Grace Project, Inc., in April 2021. Its mission “is to freely love, serve, and support homeless children by providing them with essential resources, support services, and community advocacy to remove unnecessary barriers they face and inspire them to pursue their purpose.”
David Owens, a chaplain for a local hospice company, started the Gifting Grace Project. In 2020, he was tasked with chairing a group to engage employees in an activity. During that year, with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing and hurricanes hitting the area, he witnessed people suffering loss. People lost their homes, their belongings, and, sadly, their lives. Owens said, “For most people, this kind of loss can contribute greatly to a loss of hope”.
As a Chaplain within the hospice organization, Owens was always looking for a way to support the most affected people in his care. His personal objective was to bring hope back to the hearts of those who had experienced this loss. He contacted a social worker, who informed him that around six hundred homeless students in Lafayette Parish schools needed assistance. The number of homeless students in the area shocked Owens.
Upon discovering that there were homeless students in his community, he made it his goal to get some of these children sponsored during the Christmas season, ensuring that they would receive a gift. He was given a list of one hundred students, and with that, he created a virtual angel tree. Each virtual angel represented a student and included the student’s age, gender, and grade. Those who wished to help provide the homeless students with a Christmas gift that they otherwise wouldn’t receive. As more homeless students from the surrounding areas were added, the final number of students sponsored in the project came to two hundred and seventeen. This project ran from November 1 to December 1, 2020.
Some people and businesses gave money instead of a gift. The money was used for student care kits, personal care items, socks, snacks, cold-weather necessities, and more.
Once the project ended, Owens tried to answer his feelings within himself. He said the only hope worth knowing is found in Jesus. He felt his calling was to continue helping homeless children. He wanted to create awareness among others in area communities about the statistics and needs of homeless children.
Owens began to ponder deeper questions and continued to work to see and understand the needs of children who are homeless. He realized that while there are many hardships in life, children and teenagers are not in control of their living situations or their access to vital resources. They are often forced to live in unstable conditions, such as cars, hotels, or moving from couch to couch. Owens felt a strong desire to continue helping students who find themselves in these situations. His mission was to provide support for those living in unstable homes and help fill in the gaps in their lives.
In addition to a regular, stable home, these children needed warm coats, socks, hygiene products, snacks, backpacks, school supplies, and school uniforms and it’s in these areas that he works to support the children. Every chance he gets, he works to partner with other organizations to collect and provide these items for the children.
By October 2022, he went full-time working on Gifting Grace Project which serves nine parishes.
Although the Gifting Grace Project officially started in April 2021, Owens considers Christmas 2020 as its birthdate. Since its inception, the Gifting Grace Project has met the needs of over eight thousand children in nine parishes and continues to find innovative and creative ways to bring hope to all homeless children in Acadiana.
To learn more about the Gifting Grace Project, visit its website or follow its Facebook page.
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Ifn 1987, the McKinney – Vento Homeless Assistance Act was established to help identify children who do not have stable, nighttime regular residence. Subtitle VII-B of The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act authorizes the federal Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) Program and is the primary piece of federal legislation related to the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness. It was reauthorized in December 2015 by Title IX, Part A, of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). [source] To learn about the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, visit its website.
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