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KIDS WHO CARE
Emma Blue Hull
Susan Marquez
WHEN IT COMES TO
BLESSING THOSE IN NEED,
EMMA BLUE HULL HAS IT
IN THE BAG.
The Hartfield Academy senior organized
a project that provides necessities to the
homeless and others in need. She got the idea
in what most people think of as an idyllic
place.
With its beautiful beaches, cool breezes
and palm trees, most people don’t think of
Hawaii as a place where people may be in
need. “Last summer I went to Hawaii with
a group from St. James Episcopal Church,”
says Emma Blue. “Throughout the week,
we worked with five different organizations
for the homeless and I met some amazing
people along the way.” Three of the organizations
they worked with were packing
bags with food and other necessities to pass
out to the homeless in their communities.
“We actually had the opportunity to be on a
Zoom call with the director of a government
homeless initiative,” says Emma Blue. “That
was an incredible experience.” Emma Blue
was inspired and wanted to act on what she
had learned. “I loved the idea and decided to
make some of my own to keep in my car.”
When Emma Blue returned home, she
shared her idea with some of her friends.
“We brainstormed a way to get a larger
community involved, and that’s how
Blessing Bags was started.” Students at
Hartfield have joined Emma Blue in
collecting donations and packing the bags.
Throughout the month of November,
items for the bags were collected. Donations
included gently used backpacks, blankets,
and jackets. Food in pop-top cans and bulk
snacks were collected as well. And finally,
items for hygiene were collected. To make it
easier for people to make donations, and to
be sure they got the right kind of items for
the bags, Emma Blue set up an Amazon wish
list link. That act alone resulted in more
donations, as people could just complete
their purchase and they were done – no
need to collect items and drop them off at
the school.
Once the items were collected, the bags
were packed. The students involved in the
Blessing Bag project have partnered with
Shower Power, a ministry for people
experiencing homelessness in the downtown
Jackson area. A group of seniors from
Hartfield helped to distribute the bags
during December. Leftover donated items
were donated to Shower Power.
Emma Blue is always looking for ways
she can serve her community, and the staff
and faculty at Hartfield are grateful for
her time and hard work in organizing the
Blessing Bag project. Jim DeLaughter,
head of the upper school at Hartfield, also
teaches the senior Bible class with Benton
Ingram. “We took on the Blessing Bags as
our senior bible class project,” he says. “After
filling all the bags, we prayed over each one.
We truly wanted each bag to be a blessing
to the recipient.”
Emma Blue says that the Bible class
wrote letters of encouragement that were
put into each bag. “Ten of our seniors took
the bags to Shower Power to distribute.”
Emma Blue plans to attend the University
of Southern Mississippi in the fall. “I plan
on majoring in entrepreneurship, and maybe
studio or digital art.”
Hometown RANKIN • 69