Many students will be with loved ones and hiding from the cold weather during these holidays. However, others will be without a place to stay or food to enjoy. The Black Student Union at Kempsville High School has decided to help others through these hard times by making Blessing Bags.

Blessing Bags contain donations like nonperishable goods, masks, baby blankets, and other necessities. These bags will be given to people who really need help during these hard times.

The Black Student Union is accepting donations until December 18. By the end of this week, they want to achieve their goal of ten bags, but also hope for more. Students and teachers alike have dropped off items at the school in order to contribute, while Kimberly Nurse was tasked with organizing them into bags.

“If you’re living through a pandemic with a deadly virus getting worse by the day, on top of being homeless, and it is getting cold outside… that would be an ordeal. I know I personally could not get through,” said Sydnie Mathews, a first-year executive board member of the BSU.

The Black Student Union intends to hand out Blessing Bags locally in Virginia Beach. Alice Catherman will assist in collecting and distributing the bags.

“The holiday season is a time of giving, and now, helping people is more important than ever. That is the only way we’ll get through this pandemic: if we help each other,” said Mathews.

In order to stay up to date with the Black Student Union, students can join their schoology group or follow them on social media. They also have an Instagram account (@bsuchiefs) and Twitter account (@bsuchiefs_).