How can our smallest actions make a lasting impact on those around us? On Sunday, April 21st, ten eager volunteers discovered the answer to this question as they piled into an SPS van and made the one-and-a-half-hour journey to Franconia, New Hampshire, for a day of volunteering at the Bancroft House. A family sanctuary home that offers shelter and support for mothers and children experiencing homelessness, the Bancroft House has been providing a beacon of hope in its community for over four decades.
As we pulled into the driveway, we were met with the home’s welcoming yellow walls and the enthusiastic smile of Kevin Johnson, its primary manager. The day was spent clearing branches and sticks from the backside of the property’s lawn, shoveling gravel residue from the winter snow plow, and cleaning up the aftermath of a nearby dumpster that had been knocked over by a bear. The work was challenging but equally rewarding. “It is so incredibly valuable to belong to a place that is cared for,” remarked one of Johnson’s colleagues at the Bancroft House as we were taking care of a slew of fallen branches on the lawn. “Having a backyard that looks nice is something that we can so easily take advantage of in our own lives. It gives the women who live here a special sense of security and purpose.”
The service trip was a culmination of Fourth Former Elle Ruminski’s Sokoloff Grant project, centered around helping the disadvantaged women of her community feel cared for, supported, and confident. With the THE PELICAN funding she received, Ruminski purchased hundreds of feminine and essential care products that she organized into over 30 boxes to be distributed at the Bancroft House. The boxes included items like deodorant, cotton swabs, mini first aid kits, nail clippers, soap, sunscreen, face masks, and colorful cards with personalized messages created with the help of Ruminski’s dormmates in Ford. “Most women at the house arrive with only the clothes on their backs. I have been blessed with mentors and resources in my life that have allowed me to feel cared for and put the best version of myself forward. Every woman, no matter their circumstance, deserves to experience that same feeling,” Ruminski shares.
Ruminski is currently in discussion with the New Hampshire Women’s Foundation Copy Editors Annabella Bernhardt ‘24 Nausicaa Chu ‘26 Miya Zhang ‘25 Kelly Sung ‘25 Jay Nam ‘26 Asher Gupta ‘27 Aedyn Kourakos ‘26 News Editor Lulu Mangriotis ‘25 Opinions Editor Parker Hanson ‘25 Student Life Editors Kevin Wu ‘25 Raegan Otey ‘26 Theo Christofferson ‘26 Arts Editor Anna Liu ‘25 Sports Editor Emerson Bentley ‘25 Photo Editors Temi Johnson ‘24 Vin Chutijirawong ‘25 Media Editors Declan Schweizer ‘24 Henry Wilson ‘26 Layout Team Elle Ruminski ‘26 Aedyn Kourakos ‘26 Lily Reid ‘26 about expanding her project to greater lengths, hoping to continue giving back to her community in this regard by reaching even more shelters across the state. At the Bancroft House, she recalls delivering a box to one of the residing women and receiving a response of tears and gratitude. “It was beyond fulfilling to be able to take just a small portion of my time and channel it into something that could leave behind so much good in the world,” says Ruminski. “Since that day I have been filled with both an appreciation for the life I have been given but also an awareness of the agency that I have. I want to dedicate myself to fueling such an impact for the rest of my life.”