Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

GOOD WORKS:

Project 150 helps students in need

Good Works: Project 150

Steve Marcus

Karen Wikler organizes clothing in Betty’s Boutique at Project 150 Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016. The nonprofit was created to help homeless, displaced and disadvantaged High School students.

Good Works: Project 150

Patrick Spargur, co-founder of Project 150, poses in Betty's Boutique at the Brady Caipa Volunteer & Distribution Center Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016. Project 150 is a nonprofit organization created to help homeless, displaced and disadvantaged High School students, Spargur said. Launch slideshow »
Patrick Spargur

Patrick Spargur

• Title: President/co-founder

• Agency address: 3600 N. Rancho Drive, Las Vegas

• Agency phone number: 702-721-7150

• Agency website: project150.org

• Hours of operation: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• To volunteer: Daily opportunities include intake, sorting, preparing hygiene kits, and stocking our warehouse and boutique.

What is Good Works?

In Good Works, an occasional series, we highlight nonprofit groups that are making a difference in our community. If you’d like to nominate an organization, email [email protected] with details.

What inspired you to start this organization? In 2011, my friend Don Purdue and I heard a news story about 150 homeless students at Rancho High School who needed food to get through Christmas break. We found it hard to believe that there could be 150 kids at just one high school who didn’t have enough food to get through the break. So we met with a (school) counselor, and it was really eye-opening. She told us a few hundred students needed help and all but 150 were taken care of. … We called that first charity drive Project 150, and it stuck.

Why did you decide to expand the effort? That there could be students going to Rancho, sticking with it and not dropping out, despite all the hardships of not knowing where their next meal might come from or where they might sleep from one night to the next — it was simply unacceptable to us. We rallied our friends, colleagues and anyone else we could think of to help these kids, but we couldn’t shake the feeling that getting them through Christmas wasn’t enough.

We knew that if these kids didn’t get through high school, their chances of succeeding in life would diminish greatly. We had to do more. Rancho is where we started, but we quickly found out that almost every local high school has homeless students.

What items do you offer to students in need, and where can they find these resources? Project 150 aims to provide necessities to homeless, displaced and disadvantaged high school students. That’s everything from ready-to-eat foods, clothes, hygiene items, school supplies, shoes, underwear, socks, special requests for academic needs, scholarships, and college and workforce readiness. We provide a majority of that assistance directly to the schools, so the students remain anchored to their high school and continue to feel comfortable attending classes and staying on track.

Last year, through a grant from the Englestad Family Foundation, Project 150 opened the Brady Caipa Volunteer Center and Betty’s Boutique, where the students can “shop” for free for clothing and other items by presenting a high school ID. The volunteer center is where we sort and package donations to deliver to each of the 51 Clark County high schools we serve.

Project 150 is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month. In what ways has it grown? We have increased our volunteer base and the number of schools — 51 in Clark County and 18 in Washoe County. We serve north of 5,000 students per year.

Where do you see Project 150 in the next five years? We would like to have our own campus with offices for other service-related organizations to provide social services. However, that is a huge undertaking, so we will continue to move slowly and consult our advisory board and board of directors for guidance.

Discuss the #FeedItForward and #ShareAMeal campaigns. When the holidays come, most students celebrate a break from books and teachers. But for students who are homeless, displaced or disadvantaged, it is a time of stress because school is often the only place to find their next meal. We step in to ensure at least 1,500 students and their families have a Thanksgiving meal. We rely on community support to provide the meals, which cost about $25 and feed a family of four. We deliver meal boxes to each of the 51 high schools we serve.

Project 150 is partnering with Albertsons through its Turkey Bucks program, which allows shoppers to donate money through Dec. 21. Project 150 also partners with Three Square food bank to assist with food procurement. We’ll repeat this effort and deliver meals to high schools for the Christmas holiday. To contribute and join the effort to #FeedItForward, contact Project 150.

How can students apply for scholarships? Project 150’s volunteer Youth Council empowers students to “pay it forward” by raising money for scholarships to ensure high school success becomes a springboard to higher education. Their fundraising this past year included $10,000 in matching scholarship dollars from each of the sponsoring state colleges. They awarded a total of $70,000 to 29 recipients who will attend Nevada colleges and universities, including CSN, UNLV, Nevada State College and UNR.

Why is Las Vegas Prom Closet so important? We work hard to help these students enjoy their high school experience. Project 150 helps students who otherwise couldn’t afford items such as senior photos, caps and gowns, even formal wear for prom. We’ve found tremendous support from the community, and we’re able to provide a lot of these items through donations and partnerships with businesses and entertainment groups such as Zappos and Cirque du Soleil.

What other events do you provide resources for? Homeless, displaced and disadvantaged students often will sit out activities such as sports or other extracurricular activities because they can’t afford the gear.

Anything else you want to tell us? Our community is amazing, and we couldn’t do what we do without you. We also thank the Engelstad Family Foundation for the generous support.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy