Large Donations for Little Ones: Meridian's First Supermarket Drive

7th grader Jack, 6th grader Isabel, and 9th grader Izzy at the Supermarket Drive

By 8th grader Luke

On the first day of April break, I got to the Jamaica Plain Stop & Shop a few minutes after noon for my shift at the Supermarket Drive. This was Meridian's first year participating in the Drive, which was started by Kevin Ballen at the Commonwealth School. The Drive supports Our Place, a homeless shelter for children in Cambridge. Through Our Place, children from infancy to five years old benefit from stability, support, and early education, and parents have the opportunity to seek out job opportunities, housing, and training. 

As I walked towards the supermarket, I noticed a small group of my peers standing near the entrance, accompanied by a table of already-collected donations. There were cans of baby food, a package of pens, a glass jar full of cash donations, and containers of diapers and baby wipes. Below the table, huge boxes were filled with even more donations.  Everyone was smiling and enjoying themselves. As the afternoon went on, we had a fantastic time, and even spoke some Spanish with people from the neighborhood! By the Drive's end, we'd collected $450 in cash donations, 970 diapers, 144 jars of baby food, and 4,760 wipes. It was safe to say that our small drive was a big success.