Summit Girl Will Give Away Most Of Her Christmas Gifts

SUMMIT, NJ — Anika Jain, a kindergartener at Jefferson Primary Center in Summit, felt bad over the last few years whenever she saw homeless children and families during trips to visit her grandparents in India. Last year, she saw a homeless boy there selling balloons to buy a meal.

"She used her pocket money to buy all his balloons so he could buy himself some food," said her mom, Princy Arora of Summit, last week. "She also gave him a pack of her Oreo cookies."

Anika knows there are children in need in America as well. As a result of these trips, she told her family she wanted to do more.

For the last two years, according to her mom, Anika has donated her Christmas gifts to local and statewide charities, and intends to do so this year too.

"Realizing how lucky she is, she expressed her desire to do something for them," Arora said. "She has donated toys and clothes to Be the Change [a statewide group that helps the homeless] and Grace in Summit. She has also donated to local drives organized on Summit Facebook group."

The family moved from Jersey City to Summit five years ago, when Anika was an infant.

"We always hear her saying, 'I have so many toys and clothes; they would be so happy to have some, too,' " said her mom, of the people Anika gives to.

Lest anyone worry that Anika is lacking in toys (she's a kid, after all), that's not the case.

"She has plenty of toys, as she receives them constantly from family and friends on various occasions," her mom noted. "We let her decide what she wants to keep and donate. Sometimes, she says, 'I have something similar and want to donate it.' Other times, she would say that she would like to donate her most favorite toy because she is sure the other kid would love it too."

Here are the organizations Anika donates to:

https://www.bethechangenj.org

Be The Change is a statewide nonprofit that describes itself this way: "Some of our activities include homelessness relief, creating peace gardens from abandoned lots, addressing urban food deserts utilizing vertical gardens to grow food, creating safe spaces for youth, young women empowerment programs and so much more! We are also a Certified Emergency Response Team and deploy and assist in disasters."

https://summitcommunityprograms.com/444/GRACE

Grace helps a number of people in the Summit area, particularly with a weekly food giveaway to those who need it: "GRACE distributes food and supplies for any member of the Summit community who is in need. Please come to GRACE every Friday from 5:45-7:15 p.m. at the Cornog Field House at 5 Myrtle Ave."

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