Northport Students Raise $21K to Combat Homelessness on Long Island

Story posted Nov. 18, 2015

About 150 students belonging to a humanitarian club at Northport High School raised a total of $21,500 for local organizations that help the homeless by spending the night the same way a homeless person would.

Students for 60,000 slept in boxes outside of the high school to simulate what it’s like to be homeless during the S.H.A.N.T.Y. event on Tuesday, Nov. 10.

Despite the rain on the night of the event, everything went smoothly. “The rain was a bit of bummer, but we still slept outside just under overhangs in the front the of the school,” Students for 60,000 member Isabel Caroline told Patch.

Guest speakers from Northport Food Pantry and Island Harvest stopped by and spoke to the students about the challenges homeless people on Long Island face on a daily basis.

For a meal, students were given a bag of chips, a pb&j sandwich and a bottle of water, which is the same meal many homeless people are given at shelters.

S.H.A.N.T.Y. stands for Sheltering the Homeless And Needy This Year and that’s exactly what Students for 60,000 did.

The organization plans to divide the $21,500 they raised and donate the funds to three local organizations that help the homeless:

• Northport Food Pantry will receive $8,000
• East Northport Food Pantry will receive $8,000
• Island Harvest will receive $5,000

Learn more about S.H.A.N.T.Y. and Students for 60,000 here.

Photos courtesy of Isabel Caroline