A young Grayslake North student has inspired many of her classmates, teachers, family, and people outside of school that heard about her drive.
Senior Abby Tishler opened new doors for people who sadly were homeless. She wanted to give them things they were unfortunate to have.
“It started with me. I was just thinking about it. I had been downtown a couple of days earlier and saw some people sleeping out there or wrapped in garbage bags, and I knew that, that was really cold. And no matter what, plastic can’t keep as much warmth as fabric can. So I was thinking about it. And I decided to make my own blanket drive,” Tishler said
People who want to do the right thing usually take time to think about how they could help people that are less fortunate, but Abby found a unique way to help others out.
“[I began my process] by talking to my family members. My family also runs another charity, so I talked to them and collected some items from them, and I got some stuff from the staff and faculty members at this school. I accepted monetary donations, and I brought them to Chicago. I still have so many at my house that I still need to distribute, which I might bring to PADS or other homeless shelters, things like that can just help out. I also looked around for anyone else who was willing to. I had a few classmates who heard me talking about it, and they donated some to me as well as monetary donations,” Tishler said
Her inspiration started as she started thinking about all the people as well as past family members who had nowhere to sleep, no warmth, nothing at all.
“Many people especially in my community here and some past family members have dealt with the cold and having to be staying outside. So I decided that it would be a better idea as Christmas for Chicago, rather than just to go and visit to bring things for people who didn’t have as much as we do,” Tishler said
It benefited many homeless who didn’t have anything and part of the community so they were aware of what was going on.
“It benefited, of course, the homeless to be able to stay warm, as well as this community because they were able to donate things and talk about it a little bit, and it kinda started up a whole new thing because now we are making mats for the homeless in my PSP class,” Tishler said
Abby wanted to bring a little ray of sunshine into these people’s lives.
“It was just a moment of seeing people that looked so helpless and so dehumanized. You couldn’t even tell they were people underneath everything that they had over them, and every blanket that I either made or collected was colorful, so I wanted to make it so that they had some color. Also that they saw the brightness that they couldn’t necessarily see out on the streets, trying to constantly find a place to stay.” Tishler said.