The crinkling sounds of paper bags echo through the classroom as members of the Texas High Criminal Justice Club gather around tables, assembling “blessing bags” filled with essential items to provide for the less fortunate.
Throughout the fall semester, the Texas High Criminal Justice Club concluded its week of collecting canned foods, blankets and hygiene items. The club used the donations to assemble blessing bags for the homeless population of Texarkana.
“I helped everyone come to a consensus on what we would do for our annual project,” club president Markus Hall said. “[The service project] was extremely successful and helped our club become more collaborative.”
Sophomore Lola Adcock regularly attends club meetings and understands the importance of gathering together as a team in order to make cooperation easier.
“We [had] meetings in the morning and in the afternoon each week,” Adcock said. “We shared ideas and discussed the next steps to make our project a win for not only our club, but the people in need.”
Club sponsor BreAnna Bailey believes the desire to practice community policing arose differently. Instead of drawing action from crime rates, club members aim to provide assistance to those in need through building trust and showing care.
“Criminal Justice club members talked about how law enforcement and community members work together to solve problems,” Bailey said. “This project feels like the club can help address homelessness while learning about teamwork and compassion.”
Bailey hopes the service project continues to be a tradition throughout the years to come and even considers expanding it through different seasons.
“The community response has been really positive,” Bailey said. “People seem really grateful and often tell us how much they appreciate it. Seeing someone smile or hearing a thank you when they receive a bag is really rewarding and motivates us to keep going.”
