Lisa Pang ’27
Staff writer

Little Packages, Big Hearts: The PSO Initiative

On Friday, January 10, the Pelican Service Organization held a care package event to support the homeless community of Hartford by providing hygiene products and winter clothing. These products will be delivered by Hands on Hartford, an organization that supports and uplifts the region’s most economically challenged residents. Organized by Anna Bolwell ’25 and Ms. Heather Henderson, director of community engagement, the event ran in conjunction with the all-school convocation, where Ralph Gagliardo from the Faces of Homelessness Speakers Bureau shared a profoundly moving account of his journey with homelessness.
Anna found her inspiration for action from her previous volunteer experience and another Loomis student. “I had done the project [of helping homeless individuals] in middle school. I’ve always wanted to do it again somewhere on a bigger scale,” she said. “I heard Ralph speaking and [knew] this was the perfect opportunity. It was helpful to have the convocation before the [PSO] event so that students knew who they were helping and why they were helping them.” Additionally, Anna credits Lilly Oslin ’26, who brought Faces of Homelessness to the Norton Center through her fellowship, as a key motivator. “[Lilly’s Norton Center project] was the most inspirational thing I’ve ever heard at that point in my life, so I wanted a bunch of other people to hear it,” Anna shared.
Motivated by her passion and inspired to make a difference, Anna suggested her idea to Ms. Henderson, who helped her expand it to a school-wide event. By tirelessly working with Mr. Matthew Kammrath, director of the Norton Center, Anna successfully organized an all-school convocation. One of the many goals of the convocation was to shed light on the multifaceted realities of homelessness. “There are many ways to become homeless. It’s not necessarily through illness or drug use, but also divorce, job loss, increasing housing costs, domestic violence, wildfires … It [really] depends on your access to resources,” said Ms. Henderson.
For the PSO event, Anna bought hygiene products and winter clothing using the $1500 raised from the fall term’s PSO Color Run and donations from Project Warmth and Windsor C.A.R.E.S. On Friday, January 10th, 200 care packages were made with the help of PSO volunteers and the entire Loomis community.
“So many students showed up! Every single table was full of students helping,” said Ms. Henderson. “We also had faculty members have their early check-in there so that students had to stop by to check in and see the event, which was another nice way of supporting us.”
After the event, some care packages remained in the community engagement room for community members to donate to people in need. Most will be used in Hands on Hartford’s outreach programs, which will directly benefit people experiencing homelessness.
Beyond its impact of directly helping the homeless, the PSO Care Package Event also sparked community interest in service work and collaboration with organizations in the local Windsor area. “I got a lot of gratitude from faculty and students for bringing this topic to campus,” said Ms. Henderson. She also adds that many faculty members asked if ‘[we] can get a student activities trip to Gather 55’ or if ‘we [could] revive our food donation project.’
Ultimately for coordinator Anna, the experience was one that was meaningful and unforgettable. “I was not sure how the Loomis community would react to what I brought. I was so surprised and… impressed to see the reaction(s) that I got. It has definitely been an experience and I am very happy to have done it,” she said.