While other teens are sleeping in on a Saturday morning, a group of dedicated youth leaders are hard at work, chatting, singing and laughing while they bundle diapers for at-risk children. Meet the Student Board of Hope Supply Co.

According to Pietro Miele, co-president of the board, some of the 58 students who are part of this group join to fulfill their schools’ required service hours, but they quickly find what the others already know: “It's more of a community-building experience because we have kids from many of the Dallas private schools and other ones as well. It is a social thing where we get to meet new people, but we get to do it in a place where we can help other people as well and have an impact on our own community.”

First-time board member Nikita Patel agrees, “Everybody's super nice and inviting.”

Students come from 15 area high schools. Many are leaders in their schools, serving on student councils, clubs and athletic teams. The Hope Supply Student Board meets on the last Saturday of every month, with thirty or so students participating each time. After a brief gathering and informative presentation, the students head into the warehouse and get to work for two hours. With music blaring and laughter erupting, they are able to process more than 120,000 diapers, which will meet the needs of over 40 children for a full year!!

Pietro explains, “I can't count the number of times where we've broken the record for numbers of diapers repackaged, and it's because we're young, we're fast, we're efficient and we're competitive. The more people we have, it directly corresponds to the amount of impact we have. Today we are putting stickers on already repackaged diapers, and we've gone through almost four or five pallets of double boxes of diapers in our first 30 minutes. Already this morning we have been able to change the lives of several families.”

What motivates teens to care about babies? Nikita says, “This is a really good cause because we're helping a lot of people at large quantities. We really are making a difference.” She continues, “I think it's really important because things like diapers and formula can be hard to get, and they're really expensive, but they’re something that babies need. I feel like it's a basic necessity that not everybody has access to.”

Pietro agrees, “I find this to be very beautiful because you're not only helping the kids, but you're also helping the mothers that are struggling as well.”

In addition to the monthly warehouse service, members of the Student Board put on various fundraisers throughout the year. Last fall the board partnered with a Chick-fil-A near one of their schools before a football game. Whenever anyone mentioned Hope Supply Co. at checkout, the restaurant would donate a portion of the proceeds to the organization. “Right now, we're looking into creating a pickleball tournament. I’m also thinking of creating a pie-in-the-face day. Since my nickname is PI or PIE, I would go around to various schools with a sign saying, ‘pay $5 (or something) and you can pie me in the face,’” Pietro shares.

Nikita has an idea for her school too: “I really want to do a drive for hygiene products for women.”

Students aren’t the only ones excited about what they can do. Parents see how serving on the board benefits their teens. Tamlia Fathi, who also volunteers with Hope Supply Co., appreciates what her daughter, Isabella, experiences. “On this board, she gets to learn about how to make an impact in the community. They learn to work together to do philanthropy events.” She also sees what an impact youth can have within their own spheres of influence. “They go into their schools, and they go into the community or to their friends and families and do a diaper drive and share the cause and expand the knowledge of others about Hope Supply and why it is so great to support them. They might be reaching people that may not have otherwise known about Hope Supply. Why not use our younger generation that loves to be social, loves to be all over the place, to get the word out?”

Hope Supply Co. CEO Barbara Johnson agrees. “Our Student Board makes a significant contribution to meeting the needs of homeless and at-risk families through their volunteer work, fundraising and advocacy. Last year they collected 1,500 diapers and provided nearly 700 hours of help. More importantly, they are learning at a pivotal time of life to be generous, compassionate citizens."

If your teen or youth group would like to be a part of the board, click here for an application and more information.