Current eighth grader Ella Gibbs from Stuyvesant Falls, New York has made it her life long goal to spread kindness and to give back. At such a young age Ella was able to appreciate the value of her toys, her pillows, and her blankets as items which bring her joy, tranquility, and comfort. She compared this with the homeless communities, realizing so few have such personal belongings to bring them comfort. She wanted to change this. Her journey to give back started with simply crafting a few pillows for local kids in need. Her efforts soon caught on and spread into a formalized Pillow Project through which Ella has made hundreds of pillows, donating all of them to local homeless shelters around the area.
Wanting to provide even more comfort through this creative avenue, Ella set out to fundraise. She worked tirelessly until finally making enough money to host workshops where she teaches others to make their own pillows to donate. She worked with cities across the State of New York donating all the pillow making materials and connecting with organizations who would assemble and distribute these gifts within their own community. But she didn’t stop there. Today you can find the Pillow Project circling the country, from Massachusetts to California, New Hampshire and Vermont.
In the summer of 2018 the Pillow Project came all the way to Kittery, Maine. After a quick Google search Ella reached out to Fair Tide who opened their arms to the project. Ella donated the required materials, wrote simple directions, and left it in Fair Tide’s hands to see the project through to completion.
When seeking volunteers to assemble the pillows, Fair Tide’s Thrift Store Manager, Barb McGaughey immediately thought of their partnership with Traip Academy. Traip and Fair Tide have worked together for many years, including as partners in Traip’s Community and Career Exploration course. Students in this course work with local community agencies (Rice Public Library, Head Start Reading Program, Fair Tide) to learn important pre-job skills before heading into the workforce themselves. Students volunteering at Fair Tide help with the day-to-day operations of the store, but also with special projects that pop up throughout the year
This October Fair Tide gave these students the job of completing the Pillow Project! Kearra Lucas, a freshman, and Erin Lynch, a junior, worked diligently on these pillows 2-3 days a week until the end of the month. The high school students shared that after their hard work it was great to see the finished product. Now that the pillows have been completed they will be given to local families who have struggled with homelessness where Ella’s kindness will find it’s proper home.