Jacob Bassett has spent the last five years as a big helper in Hands4Hope. Tagging along with his mom, Jennifer Basset (our Founder and Executive Director), Jacob has seen how everything works behind the scenes. “Not many people get to see what I see,” he said. “I see where things happen not just in H4H, but everywhere.”
He’s definitely not complaining about his involvement. “I am proud of this organization and very proud that my brother and I have helped build it and I feel a lot of pride in that,” said Jacob. He has also gotten several of his friends involved. “I had a friend come along with me to the Blitz for the first time and I helped him with being able to talk to adults and shoppers.” He says the skill of being able to talk comfortably with others is one of the many he has learned in H4H. “One year I wanted to speak at the Youth Recognition Dinner and I just decided to do it, and it went well,” he said. He said this confidence has greatly improved his “people skills” over the years.
Jacob said his favorite outreach event is the Homeless Outreaches. He’s done dozens of them and each time is a new experience. “I remember on my 6th Homeless Outreach I started recognizing the same woman and I couldn’t believe how grateful she was that we were there,” he said. “I really enjoy helping others as much as I can, I love the warm feeling I have after I am done.”
Jacob is an 8thgrader at Rolling Hills Middle School. He is the President of the Hands4Hope Club. He has two big passions, writing and art. He is currently working on writing his second book, which is a sequel to his first fiction book. His favorite class in school is art and he hopes to one day design his own book covers.
