Local Students Sell Their Talents To Help The Homeless

SUDBURY, MA — Have Lincoln Sudbury High School junior Nathan Gilbert over to rake your leaves. Buy a cake made by senior Samantha Broglio. Or hire senior Lucas Garay — founder of the Lincoln-Sudbury mindfulness club — to show you how to meditate.

Whatever you buy, the proceeds will go to a coronavirus relief fund for the Pine Street Inn in Boston.

This summer, a group of about 30 Lincoln-Sudbury students decided they wanted to raise money to help homeless people get through the coronavirus pandemic. They opened a website to sell coupons for services — like raking leaves or one of Samantha's homemade cakes.

"We saw how bad things were in the world, and wanted to do our part to help," LSRHS senior Joel George said in an email.

Some local businesses have also chipped in, giving the students gift cards, including $50 from Franco's Trattoria and $15 from Learning Express.

So far, the students have sold about $400 worth of services, but they're trying to reach a goal of at least $1,000.

The homeless community in Massachusetts has been hit especially hard by coronavirus. The Pine Street Inn had a 36 percent positive test rate at the peak of the pandemic this spring. The virus spreads quickly when people are crowded together in enclosed spaces, like shelters. In response, homeless service agencies across the state have had to expand shelter space to keep residents farther apart.

A quick, easy way to help with costs related expanding services? Take Chinese language lessons from Rebecca Teng, or a beginner guitar class with Jackson Hild.