Ahead of the winter storm that crippled the area, Mercy Academy senior Lily Sumner was busy Jan. 3 delivering more than 130 “homeless kits” to St. Vincent de Paul’s Shelby Park campus.
She’s the founder of “Wrapped in God’s Warmth,” a non-profit that partners with schools to collect donations for people in need.
The organization — which she began in 2017 as a sixth grader at St. Rita School — seeks to restore human dignity and hope to people experiencing homelessness, she said in a recent interview.
The kits contain various items, such as blankets, socks, hand warmers, flashlights, hats and water bottles. They are tied with a string and a prayer card.
Many students also wrote personalized prayers and Bible verses to inspire hope, she said.
Sumner sees this effort as a “calling” and “some of the most fulfilling work,” she said.
“I was given such an amazing life. I’ve had the best home life I could ask for,” said Sumner.
But, “there are people out there that are really struggling,” she said. “Some of those people think they are forgotten.”
She hopes the kits will “help people to find hope and comfort” and to “look to God for answers,” she said.
She also hopes the kits remind people of their human dignity. “I hope they know they are loved,” she said.
This year, the organization partnered with several Catholic high schools, including Assumption High School, Mercy, Sacred Heart Academy, DeSales High School and Trinity High School — and one elementary school, St. Rital, to collect donations.
Sumner, who is attending the University of Louisville in the fall, plans to partner with schools in surrounding counties next year.
