'Tenacious' 13-Year-Old Annapolis Girl Clothes Families Statewide

ANNAPOLIS, MD — A determined eighth-grade Annapolis student runs her own non-profit out of her family's home to help Maryland residents in need. Haley Havard started Haley's Helping Hands of Maryland, Inc. when she was only 11 years old in order to send gently used clothing and shoes to low-income families around Maryland. In the past two months alone, Haley's helped about 100 families and donated over 2,000 items.

Haley, 13, a student at the private Key School in Annapolis, remembers watching a show on the Disney Channel when she was just nine years old, about a girl who asked for shoes for her birthday instead of gifts that she then donated to children in need around the world.

“I started wondering how I could help in my local community," Haley told Patch. "It was a big dream of mine, but it was too big of a dream for my age at that point."

At age 11, Haley's mother, Lee Ann Havard, told her daughter she was finally old enough to make her dream a reality.

“She’s always been a really tenacious kid, but at nine I wasn’t sure if she could manage it all,” Lee Ann, a learning specialist at Key School, said.

After brainstorming a name for her organization and shelters in the area that she could help, Haley kicked off Haley's Helping Hands of Maryland, Inc. Her main goal is to collect gently used clothing and shoes that she then ships to families for free, thanks to the money she raises.

Haley relies on both in-kind and monetary donations to keep operating and to ship the items free of charge for the families.

Haley helped out at shelters, who then referred residents leaving the shelter to Haley's organization. As Haley's organization continues to grow, she now primarily receives requests for items directly from the families through her website.

Haley receives most of the clothing and shoes through donations from people in Annapolis, as well as through Facebook and her Crowdrise.

At times, she donates her own clothes that she's grown out of, and she's even gone to stores to buy specific items families ask for if the certain item hasn't been donated, like a pair of plus-size jeans or a kid size.

Haley said “picking out the specific items and knowing that that’s going to keep someone warm and healthy throughout the winter and summer" is the most rewarding part of what she does.

“It’s been interesting to watch her balancing this and being a kid,” Lee Ann told Patch.

Haley's mom helps her pack boxes in their garage on the weekend to send out the following week. Although Haley usually ships her packages to Maryland, she once connected with a family in Pennsylvania and even send clothes to an orphanage in India.

As if that's not impressive enough, Haley also uses some of the money she receives from donations to sponsor Annapolis children to play community sports, from soccer to gymnastics to baseball and lacrosse.

"I believe that by providing these scholarship, we can help the children feel more confident about themselves, which will hopefully lead to better experiences in life," Haley says on her website. "When children feel confident, they are happier, have an easier time learning, and are better able to demonstrate their skills."

Haley has sponsored five children so far, including two children ages three and 11 to play community soccer and three children living in a shelter to participate in gymnastics.

"It’s a big commitment but definitely very rewarding," Haley said.

Haley's parents recently had to build her a shed in the backyard because the garage she worked in was always so full of packages to send out.

"Now she has her own little headquarters,” Lee Ann told Patch.

Photos: Haley's Helping Hands of Maryland, Inc.