Indiana woman makes blankets, care packages for the homeless

MISHAWAKA, Ind. (AP) - For Alexis Breveard, doing good works runs in the family.

'œI remember when I was around 8, we would go through our clothes for the winter time and see what we had,'ť she said. 'œExtra hats, gloves, whatever we can donate, and we would all go down to the homeless shelter and give that to them.'ť

Later, when Alexis, now 21, was in middle school and then a student at Penn High School, she was prepared to go the extra mile to ensure the success of food drives.

'œI would go home and say, '~Hey, we need to go to the store and go buy all these canned goods,'~'ť she said. 'œI knew we were fortunate enough that we could go do it, so why not give some of what you have to help someone else.'ť

These days, a busy work and school schedule keeps her from being involved in organized activities at IU South Bend, where she is an elementary educational major who hopes to teach kindergartners through second grade students.

But her commitment to helping those less fortunate instilled in her by her parents, Dakari and Kerri Breveard, compelled her to do something to keep those who are on the street warm during this cold winter.

She's enlisted the help of her parents and her boyfriend to make homemade blankets and care baskets for the homeless in South Bend. She even set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money to purchase the supplies.

As of late January, she had made 8 blankets and 80 care bags that include items such as gloves, hats and toiletries. The plan is to donate the bags to the warming center at 506 S. Main St.

Alexis, who lives in Mishawaka, said that this idea was born during Christmas when she gave out blankets that she made as presents.

'œI never know what to get them for Christmas because they kind of have like everything you want, and besides, my family tries to not be so materialistic for Christmas, so I thought of a more personal gift,'ť she said.

Her family loved the blankets.

That is when Alexis decided to make the blankets and give them to the homeless.

'œMy goal is to help as many as I could, so the bags were a great way to do that and then at least everyone can have something to help them out,'ť she said. 'œSo, I haven't been focusing on the blankets as much as the bags.'ť

She set a goal of raising $1,200 on her GoFundMe page to help purchase supplies for the care packages. She is a little less than three fourths of the way there.

Alexis' father said he grew up in a family of four boys and watched his mother work hard to make ends meet. That experience gave him a desire to help those facing difficulties and he and his wife wanted to instill a sense of service in their children.

Alexis was a student at Holy Cross Grade school, and during her time there she passed through my wife's library. She still remembered my wife, and Gail remembered Alexis as a nice, energetic and caring student.

She hasn't changed much, and after talking to her parents I saw where her compassionate and positive outlook came from.

Dakari Breveard said he wanted to help people and also teach his children a lesson about being concerned about those who are less fortunate.

'œWe were able to make more money, but one of the things I wanted my kids to understand is where we came from, what we didn't have coming up and how we are blessed to have some of those necessities like food clothes and being able to pay bills and having extra money left over after making ends meet,'ť Breveard said.

Those lessons began early in childhood when the couple would take their children to Chicago to buy hats, socks and other items that they would donate to a local shelter

'œWe wanted to instill in our children that life is a gift, and not everybody has the same blessing,'ť he said. 'œSo, if you are in a position where can bless someone, bless them.'ť

He said he's surprised and proud to see how his daughter has taken those life lessons to heart.

'œThat is a proud father moment because she didn't have to take it to the level which she did. She took it upon herself,'ť he said. 'œI can't take credit for it. That is who she is as a person and I am just happy that we were able to instill that into her.'ť

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Source: South Bend Tribune