On Thursday July 27, 2023, the Rotary Club of Lynn gathered at the Old Tyme restaurant to fill Bags of Hope with personal care items. The collection of bags is for the Jasmine Grace Outreach program, the items are primarily for women.Women who are living on the streets or in programs throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire are given Bags of Hope filled with basic items that we take for granted every day. In collaboration with programs serving women affected by trafficking, prostitution, addiction and homelessness, Bags of Hope is driven by the community. Many different groups of people are donating the items, filling the bags and handing them out! By doing this we let the women know there is a better way, they are treasured people, and that we are here to help.
Members of the Rotary Club, including District Governor Lori Karas, Assistant Governor Peter Majane, DGE Tom Hankard and DGN Pooja Singla, donated enough items to fill 40 Purple Bags of Hope. And there were enough items left over to fill at least an additional 15 Purple bags. The Purple Bags are the trademark for the program. One Club member while checking out at a local store was asked why she was buying 5 each of a multitude of items. When she explained about the Purple bags, the cashier volunteered that she had received one of the bags years before and she was most grateful for the items in them. You never know who you might be helping when participating in something like this.