Noah Fitzgerald is a senior at Stony Point High School and founder of HelpingHands, a budding nonprofit organization that performs donation drives for the homeless and schools.
The stress and loss Noah’s family and friends experienced through the pandemic made him determined to help alleviate the hardships of others. With only $20 in his wallet and a car, Noah formed his nonprofit organization, HelpingHands. He held his first donation drive in 2020, collecting items for the homeless. Since then, Noah has organized six donation drives collecting items for the homeless and school supplies for a local elementary school. He has driven as far as Houston to pick up donations.
“Schools have a lot of stress to provide a safe and productive learning environment for their students,” said Noah. “I feel this burden with the worry of not having enough school supplies is something schools shouldn’t have to struggle with.”
The now senior says that during his freshman year, he felt entitled. And that the catalyst to his change happened as a sophomore. “I didn’t make the basketball team sophomore year. And I shouldn’t have. I didn’t prepare enough, and I wasn’t in shape,” said Noah, who credits his dad for his paradigm shift. “My dad showed me that I was making excuses for myself and challenged me to do more. It was humbling.”
Noah brings attention to his causes through word of mouth and Instagram. He’ll kick off a new drive with a post listing the items he needs and documents his progress by posting when he receives donations. Noah says that when he posts donation photos during a drive, it encourages even more assistance.
Noah wants to grow HelpingHands and seeks a mentor to help him acquire the IRS 501(c)(3) designation. “I believe I was put here to help people,” he said. “Doing drives makes me feel like I am doing what I was put here to do.”
“Noah is a conscientious young man who wants to make a positive impact in his community and the world,” said Dr. Anthony Watson, Stony Point High School principal. “I am excited to see what lies ahead for this extraordinary young man. I am honored to be his principal and witness his coming of age.”
In the home stretch of his senior year, Noah works two jobs, plays on the school basketball team, operates HelpingHands, and is making plans to attend college in the Fall. Noah has applied to Howard University, Morehouse College, and Xavier University and plans to pursue a career in the medical field.
