Last summer, middle schoolers Anna Hardy and Noelle Gorinas were elbow-deep in glue, shaving cream and food coloring, creating that gunk that kids love called slime.
The best friends and Lawrenceville neighbors loved slime and had fun making it, and thought, why not find a way to make it and help someone else at the same time?
With the assistance of Kids Boost, a nonprofit that empowers kids to help others, the girls took a $200 grant, started their own charity, SlimeAlicious, and then spent months making and selling slime to support homeless children. They raised $1,800 for Home of Hope The Children’s Shelter in Buford.
“When we found out there were 3,000 homeless children in Gwinnett, we decided to do this for Home of Hope because it blew us away at how many homeless children there actually were,” said Noelle, a rising seventh grader at Hebron Christian Academy.
“We mainly wanted to focus on women and children because we love children, and we really wanted to find a way that we could help them,” said Anna, who will be in eighth grade this fall at Greater Atlanta Christian School.
They made gallons of slime and sold it at fall festivals, football games and PTA events. They even sold slime-making kits for Christmas. They also collected donations. As they shared about Home of Hope and the homeless situation in Gwinnett, people dug a little deeper and donated more money.
“We made them a little more aware of what was going on around them,” Anna said.
On any given night, Gwinnett could have between 6,000 and 8,000 homeless, said Home of Hope Executive Director Maureen Kornowa. Because the county doesn’t have an emergency shelter, there’s no way track exact numbers, she said.
Home of Hope is a private transitional living shelter for children and their mothers. The mothers work through a life skills plan for independent living, and “kids are allowed to be kids, away from the burden of homelessness,” Kornowa said.
When presenting their donation earlier this year, the girls toured the facility and were inspired to do even more.
They learned that each child coming into the shelter gets a new comforter set with matching sheets, which they take with them when they leave. The bedding sets are donated, and there’s alway a need for more. Anna and Noelle were awarded $1,000 for their charitable work by a local business, and they plan to use that money to purchase comforter sets for the children.
“These kids are the next generation of go-getters. They found out through giving how much impact young people can have. I told them to go out and share their passion and share their story because it just takes one person to change the life of another person,” Kornowa said.
Making slime turned out to be a lot of work, said Lindsey Gorinas, Noelle’s mom. Even so, she said, they learned that doing something meaningful for others is a wonderful way to spend your time.
Anna and Noelle both said they plan to continue looking for ways to help others, mostly through volunteer projects with their school or church.
“Our business was difficult to run, but it was fun, and it was definitely worth it because we were able to help homeless children.” Noelle said.
“What’s inspiring to me is that these are children who are doing this,” said Lindsey Hardy, Anna’s mom. “Even as an adult, I want to help, but, sometimes, I really don’t know where to go or what to do. They took something as small as slime – something every kid loves – and used it to make a difference and help others. It’s very inspiring to see these girls out there leading the way.”
WHAT INSPIRES ANNA HARDY AND NOELLE GORINAS
Home of Hope: The girls were able to share their success with Home of Hope The Children's Shelter, a transitional living shelter for children and their young moms. When people heard about the homeless situation in Gwinnett County, they were inspired to donate more money, Anna said.
Helping others: Noelle: "Me and my mom are always looking for different opportunities to help others, through volunteering, or just other ways to help out."
Anna said she looks forward to a Thanksgiving project sponsored by Greater Atlanta Christian School. Students will take a Thanksgiving meal and necessities to families living nearby in extended-stay motels.
HELP US INSPIRE ATLANTA
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But we also understand the importance of celebrating our region’s moments, milestones and people. That’s exactly what we hope to accomplish with Inspire Atlanta.
Each week, Inspire Atlanta will profile a person that makes metro Atlanta a better place in which to live.
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Know someone who inspires you or makes metro Atlanta a better place for others? Email us at inspireatlanta@ajc.com.
