FERGUS – A local elementary school student has been recognized with an Ontario Junior Citizen nomination.
Hennessey Veit, 11, was the only local nominee for the Ontario Community Newspapers Association award.
She was nominated by Knights of Columbus member Brian Bielby for her fundraising efforts through the creation of her “Hennessey Bags.”
After attending a We Day family event in Oct. 2016, Hennessey was inspired to make T-shirt bags, sell them and raise money for the children involved with Villages of Hope Zimbabwe.
“I got this book at We Day that was full of ideas to fundraise and I found T-shirt bags,” Veit said. “It was helping the environment because it’s reusing stuff and I thought it was a great way to do something and I started Hennessey Bags.”
After selling the bags for $5 each and holding breakfasts, barbecues, bag-making workshops and a garage sale, Hennessey raised $2,500 ($1,000 more than her original goal) to buy about 50 uniforms for students entering school in Zimbabwe.
“Hennessey is a very positive girl who wants to make the world a better place,” Bielby wrote in his nomination letter.
“She was so surprised that the kids in Zimbabwe couldn’t go to school if they didn’t have a uniform that her raising money for school uniforms was such an obvious choice for her.”
Hennessey was also recognized at the October 2017 We Day celebrations, during which she and her family were called up to the stage.
This year Veit is expanding her fundraising goals. She is continuing with her Hennessey Bags but her goal is to raise $3,000.
“Hennessey is an amazing young girl,” Bielby said. “For anyone to put the time and effort and personal sacrifice to give to this worthwhile cause, thousands of miles away, that she will probably never have the chance to visit, is truly inspiring.”
Veit is going one step further and is making pouches for welcome gifts to donate to Covenant House in Toronto.
Her goal is to donate 100 pouches.
“Since we were wasting so many sleeves of the Hennessey Bags because we cut them off and throw them out, we decided to make use of them,” Veit said.
“So we are going to do Hennessey Bags fundraising for kids in Zimbabwe and helping out girls at Covenant House.
“Covenant house is a safe haven for girls that have escaped sex trafficking.”
While she is selling the bags to raise money for the children in Zimbabwe, Hennessey will be raising money to buy supplies to make pouches for Covenant House.
“We’re going to put hair brushes, mini shampoo bottles, toothpaste, toothbrush, elastics … candies … in the pouches,” she explained.
“It’s like a welcome pouch and I just want them to feel like they feel good.”
With her fundraising Bielby said Veit has engaged the community and has even inspired others to start their own projects.
“I don’t want anybody to feel left out,” she said. “I want everybody to have an opportunity to help.”
Veit and her mom, Christine Veit, will be at the Centre Wellington Women’s Expo at the Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex on March 10, selling Hennessey Bags to raise money for Zimbabwe, collecting donations for the welcome pouches and selling lava lamps they received as a donation to raise money for Covenant House.
“For a 11-year-old girl to demonstrate such initiatives, dedication and resourcefulness, shows what a caring and positive individual she is,” Bielby said.
“It clearly demonstrates what a loving and caring family she has the good fortune to be a part of.”
