For many families the Thanksgiving feast is a time to be together.
- Sin Fronteras (Without Borders) Youth Group offers chance to give
- Students work with youth group to help others, like toy drives
It's no different for the teens at the Hope Center in Apopka.
"It's just a second home for you," said Thania Rico of Sin Fronteras (Without Borders) Youth Group.
"I made some pretty deep friendships," Mizael Almarez Ramos of Sin Fronteras Youth Group said.
Hope CommUnity Center’s Youth Group is sharing a holiday meal.
About 100 students from area high schools meet every Wednesday for Sin Fronteras.
"They come on their own and they come because they like it. This is a space that they created, not us. The group is not about me or about or the director or every other volunteer we have. In there the group is about them," explained Dulce Barrera of the Youth and Family Advocate Hope CommUnity Center.
But the students choose to make it about others through service projects like their upcoming toy drive.
"It feels like I'm serving my part in the world," Ramos said.
Barrera explained that it makes them happy to see families happy.
"... And it makes us happy to know that they are aware of everything that is going on and how they are contributing back to this community," she added.
Their meetings also allow the teens time to support one another.
Many come from immigrant families and face challenges of their own.
"We talk and we get into subjects that really have to do with social like or politics," Ramos said.
"We contribute our abilities and what we can do to help out people in need and people who don't know what they are capable of doing," added Rico.
Today the high schoolers are together to reflect on what they're thankful for and for being together.
And their community can thank them for their commitment to giving back.