Houston High FCCLA Turns Compassion Into Action for Hannah’s Hope

A little research, a personal connection and a desire to help others were all it took for a group of Houston High School students to turn an idea into an opportunity to serve.

Members of Houston High’s FCCLA recently organized a donation drive benefiting Hannah’s
Hope, a West Tennessee organization that provides adoption services and support for pregnant women and new mothers in crisis.

“We held a fundraiser to collect products for Hannah’s Hope, which helps provide mothers and
children with supplies they may need,” student Erin Jones said.

The project fits into a larger goal FCCLA members have set for themselves this year: finding
meaningful ways to support organizations throughout the community.

“Our biggest goal is to help as many organizations as we can, whether through community
service projects or donation drives,” Sydney Clunan said.

For Grace Pathenais, seeing those projects make an impact is one of the things she is most
looking forward to.

“I’m really excited about our upcoming community service activities and seeing how they can
help our community,” Pathenais said.

The decision to support Hannah’s Hope carried a personal connection for Clunan, FCCLA’s
community service leader. Her sister recently had a baby, which prompted her to think about
mothers who may not be able to afford the supplies they need. Clunan’s interest in becoming a
social worker also drew her to the organization’s work with mothers, children and adoption.

“My sister recently had a baby, so I wanted to help mothers who may not be able to afford baby
supplies,” Clunan said. “I also want to be a social worker, and Hannah’s Hope works with
adoption, so that connection led me to them.”

Clunan researched Hannah’s Hope online and reached out to Sarah Vonderheide, Development and Community Outreach Specialist for the organization.

“Sydney did her research, found our agency online and reached out because she wanted to
organize a donation drive and learn more about what we do,” Vonderheide said.

Hannah’s Hope provides professional adoption services while also working with pregnant
women and new mothers in crisis across all 21 West Tennessee counties. Its work includes
confidential, nonjudgmental counseling, safe parenting supplies, mentoring and support designed to prepare mothers for parenthood and help families remain together when possible.

For Vonderheide, seeing high school students choose to support that mission made the project
especially meaningful.

“We serve a lot of teen moms, so seeing teenagers want to help other mothers and their
community is really a breath of fresh air,” Vonderheide said. “It’s really exciting. I would love to
see more of this.”

Clunan, Jones and Pathenais were joined by fellow FCCLA members Chloe Nguyen and Norah Kohl in an effort that reflects what the students hope their club can accomplish throughout the year.

For Houston High FCCLA, the Hannah’s Hope drive shows how community service can begin
simply: recognize a need, make a connection and find a way to help.