Pauline P & Family: Community Member Highlight
D.R.E.W. Projects would like to highlight local community member, Pauline P and her family who donated 262 feminine hygiene kits for women and girls experiencing homelessness in San Fernando Valley. D.R.E.W. Projects donated the kits to The Village Family Services T.A.Y. Drop-In Center in North Hollywood, CA.
Over a fun Zoom chat, Adria and I learned the backstory about why Pauline and her family decided to supply feminine hygiene kits to support our Women's Health Initiative.
How did you hear about us? When my mom told me she wanted to put together care packages for women in our community, I immediately went to Google. I reached out to a handful of organizations that seemed to have experience in feminine hygiene kits, including DREW Projects! Of all the Orgs I reached out to, DREW responded right away and was so helpful in making my mom's birthday wish to help out come true.
How did you decide to get involved with donating feminine hygiene products? For my mother's 60th birthday, we were going to throw a big party as family and friends were vaccinated, but she doesn't like being the center of attention and kept hinting that she would instead do something else. She finally settled on doing a family volunteer event and decided to do something to help the unhoused women in LA (her home for so many years).
What does community mean to you and your family? The community has always been important to our family. Still, admittedly it has often been insular to our family or Korean American communities that we grew up with (through school, church, etc.). As we grow older (at all different life stages between my siblings and my parents), it has become more and more of a priority to think about community in a broader sense. I feel inspired by my brother and sister, who keep me in touch with what's happening in LA since I live up the coast in Seattle. I'm also proud of my parents, who challenge their ways of thinking as the world around us changes.
What advice would you give someone who wants to make a difference in the community but doesn't know where to start? The lesson I learned from this family activity and fully attributed to my mom is just starting anywhere! It can be so overwhelming when we think about solving community problems holistically that we forget that even small acts of service/kindness/help can go a long way. I will carry that message with me and try to follow that advice whenever I can because I am guilty of caring a whole lot but not DOING enough.
What causes are you & your family most passionate? I would say that's an individual question for each family member, and everyone would answer differently. But I can say that we care about people - that may show up in different ways and different causes, but ultimately we care deeply about people. (And I care about animals too).
D.R.E.W. Projects celebrate Pauline P and family for their generous donation and willingness to help be a part of the solution..
Cheers to working together!!!
~Ape & A