Many Scripps Ranch High School (SRHS) students will continue a nine-year-long tradition of aiding San Diego's homeless this holiday season. With the help of the SRHS Homeless Outreach Club, students will be donating new clothing and other necessities through a network of collection boxes this holiday season. 

Blake Scurry, who is the club's president and a SRHS student, said that they are currently donating more than 800 pairs of socks to various homeless shelters.

"We are planning to donate 100 hygiene kits and hand-written messages of hope to a San Diego homeless shelter," Scurry said. 

With the help of the club adviser Ron Tsui, the Outreach Club is a student-run volunteer organization that raises awareness about the homelessness problem in San Diego. It was started in late 2011 by former SRHS students Nicolas Stanitsas and Daniel Miller. Stanitsas started a sock drive for the homeless in the fall of 2011. He later met Miller, who shared the same vision as his. So, they tag-teamed to promote an event called "Christmas Socks for the Homeless" that year in which they collected more than 800 pairs of athletic socks – just like the current project. 

Although the COVID-19 pandemic had set back some of the Outreach Club's events, it did not prevent people from donating for the next event.

"Luckily, we have already received donations for hygiene kits from the members of our community," Scurry
said. "Scripps Ranch has always been known for its kindness and generosity."

In April 2020, the U.S. Census reported that there were nearly 4,900 people who were homeless in the City of San Diego, a drop of 4 percent from last year, according to SanDiego.gov. Many are being temporarily sheltered inside the San Diego Convention Center.
While city officials are working on a long-term plan to address homelessness, volunteer programs like the SRHS Homeless Outreach Club offer some comfort and short-term solutions. 

"Just like the founders' goal of raising awareness of homelessness, we are hoping to provide aid to those in need and give a spark of hope in their lives," Scurry said. 

All Scripps Ranch High students are welcome to join. Email the Outreach Club: srhshomelessoutreach@gmail.com.