December 2005

Local Girls Make Commitment to Year-Round Giving

by Katie Amodei

Megan Johnson:
Mission to the Homeless Spans Five Years

At age 14, Megan Johnson has discovered something that takes many people years to learn – that the most basic and powerful way to connect with another person is to listen. Just listen. She knows that the most important thing we ever give to each other is our attention, especially if it’s given from the heart.

Giving from the heart has become a way of life for the Federal Way girl. Each Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day for the past five years, she has given her homemade blankets – each one tied with a ribbon and a note that says, “Remember… someone cares” – to people living on the streets of downtown Seattle. She also takes the time to listen to the stories of the homeless people she helps. She wants to know what they need, she wants them to know she hears them, and she wants them to know that someone cares. She calls this “Megan’s Mission.”

“One of the people I will always remember was a woman I met the first year I did this. I was down to the last blanket out of the 50 or so I had brought with me, and I was looking for someone to give it to. I tapped a homeless woman on the shoulder to ask if she wanted it,” Megan says. “Immediately, tears began to roll down her eyes, and she said, ‘You have no idea what it’s like to be homeless. It’s so cold. Thank you for this.’”

The woman, whose name is Margaret, told Megan the blanket would help her get through the cold winter. “You are my angel,” she said, giving her a hug. “Would you pray for me?”

“So I do,” Megan says. “I pray for Margaret, and I pray for the other homeless people I have met since I’ve been doing this.”

Megan’s mother, Jill Johnson, says, “When Megan talks with the people she helps, she’s not just giving a blanket, she really cares. She tells them, ‘I know what it is like to be different. I know you feel different, and I care.’”

Born with hemifacial dysplasia, a birth defect that causes the bones in her face to grow at different rates, Megan does know something about feeling different. Her mother home-schools her because she says classmates harassed Megan about her appearance when she was in public school. “She’s been through a lot,” Johnson says. “She’s had 23 facial surgeries, and she has turned it into something positive with what she does to help others.”

Megan got the idea to start “Megan’s Mission” five years ago while attending vacation Bible school. “We talked about the homeless, and they showed us a video about homeless people in San Francisco. As I watched it, I got really sad. It’s hard to describe just how sad I was,” Megan says. “I knew I had to do something to help.”

Megan raises the funds for “Megan’s Mission” through a hot cider stand she sets up in her neighborhood, a prime place for Christmas light viewing during the holiday season. Last year, she raised more than $2,500. She also sells wristbands, holds garage sales and receives donations from churches throughout the year. She then uses the money to purchase material to make the blankets and scarves she hands out, and she buys hats and socks at a local discount store. “A lot of the homeless people I talk with say they need warm socks. That seems to be the most important thing they need. So I pick out the really big and warm ones for them,” says Megan.

Last year, the Ladies Auxiliary VFW for the state of Washington nominated Megan for a community service award. She went to their national conference in Cincinnati, where she won first place in the national award contest and met President George W. Bush. In December 2004, the Washington Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals named Megan their Outstanding Youth Philanthropist. And in 2003, the Hasbro toy company named her Washington state’s “hero” for her work with the homeless.

“I had no idea it was going to be such a big thing. I didn’t start doing this to win awards or anything. I just wanted to help people,” Megan says. “I am humbled, and I am thankful for the gift I have.”

Megan recently donated $1,000 to help Hurricane Katrina victims. In addition to the supplies she hands out each year to people living on the streets, she makes monthly donations of $100 from her “Megan’s Mission” bank account to three local charities: Union Gospel Mission, which provides food and shelter for the homeless; First Place School, a kindergarten through fifth-grade school for homeless and at-risk children; and Fusion, an organization that provides transitional housing for woman and children who are victims of domestic violence.

“Some kids may think that they’re just kids, and they can’t do anything about homelessness. But kids can help,” Megan says. “No matter who you are, you can make a big difference for the people out there who really need help.”

Tara Sodoma:
Four Years of Generosity to Hopelink

Tara Sodoma, 11, of Woodinville, has been collecting food for needy families for four years.

The generosity of Tara Sodoma of Woodinville, now 11, first came to the surface when she was 7 and decided to go trick-or-treating for nonperishable food donations instead of candy. She gave all of the food she collected to Hopelink to help feed homeless and low-income families north and east of Seattle.

“That first year, not many people were ready for me,” says Tara, explaining that many neighbors were surprised by her request, and had to search for a food item to donate from their pantry.

She enjoyed going door-to-door for donations so much that she’s done it every Halloween since. “Now my neighbors are ready for me when I come to their door, and a lot of them have a whole bag of food for me to take instead of just one can,” said Tara. “I didn't miss the candy,” she adds. “I think trick-or-treating for food is more important.” This year, Tara collected 222 cans and boxes of nonperishable food items from neighbors and $500 in checks from family members, and donated it all to Hopelink.

Talking with Tara, you see that even at such a young age, she truly enjoys giving from the heart, and that she wants to encourage other kids to do the same. This year, she talked to classmates about collecting food at Halloween.

“I’m really proud of the choices Tara’s making,” says her mom, Marci Parducci, who nominated Tara for the Build a Bear Workshop Huggable Hero Award this year. Tara was one of 11 national finalists last July and was rewarded with $1,000 from Build a Bear to be given to the charity of her choice.

“When we saw that Hopelink spends 92 percent of the money they receive directly on helping people, that really impressed us, so we decided to give the whole $1,000 to Hopelink,” says Parducci.

The award from Build a Bear is an excellent recognition of Tara’s efforts, but in a letter to Hopelink, presented with her $1,000 donation, Tara stated that the greatest reward for her is knowing that what she is doing is making a difference for other children and families who need help.

Katie Amodei is a Puget Sound-based freelance writer, public relations consultant, mother and stepmother.

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