December 6, 2018

At SVSU, high school students to wrap gifts collected for Bay City, Midland, Saginaw shelters

Local high school students involved in Saginaw Valley State University’s Great Lakes Bay Regional Youth Leadership Institute are showing their support for the community by collecting gifts for three regional nonprofits that provide shelter for those in need of help.

The project will conclude Friday, Dec. 7, when representatives from the nonprofits pick up the gifts from SVSU.

For several weeks, students have been collecting gifts from their local high schools and communities. They plan to donate those gifts to Bay Area Women’s Shelter in Bay City, Shelterhouse in Midland, and Underground Railroad in Saginaw.

“One of the pillars of the Great Lakes Bay Regional Youth Leadership Institute is teaching the students to be leaders in the community and giving back to families that are less fortunate,” said Mamie T. Thorns, SVSU’s special assistant to the president for Diversity Programs and the leadership institute’s longtime coordinator.

The Great Lakes Bay Regional Youth Leadership Institute welcomed its new class of participants — featuring more than 80 students from 32 high schools across the region — earlier this year. The institute is a year-long program involving several activities promoting team and leadership-building skills.

The Great Lakes Bay Regional Youth Leadership Institute is overseen by SVSU’s Office of Diversity Programs.

For more information about this year’s gift collection drive, call SVSU's Office of Diversity Programs at (989) 964-4068.