Mayor's office intern organizes Nov. 19 donation drive for domestic violence victims
Garima is a junior at Oak Ridge High School and has been interning for Mayor Steinberg’s office since the summer of 2022
Sacramento (Nov. 16, 2022) The Mayor’s Office of Civic Engagement will be co-hosting a drive-thru donation drive with WEAVE, Inc. at Sacramento Valley Station on Saturday, Nov. 19.
This drive is the brainchild of Garima Penumechchu, a 16-year-old intern and junior at Oak Ridge High School who brought her idea to Mayor Darrell Steinberg several months ago.
“I couldn’t be more proud of Garima,” Mayor Steinberg said. “What she has done to gather donations for WEAVE reminds us that young people are capable of taking on leadership roles.”
WEAVE, Inc, the primary provider of crisis intervention services in Sacramento County, will use the donated supplies for the clients who receive WEAVE services. Everyone receiving WEAVE services is a survivor of sexual assault, domestic abuse, and/or sex trafficking. According to WEAVE, Inc. staff, the most important and needed items are menstrual and hygiene products and warm clothes. A full list of requested items is found in the image embedded in this blog post. It is very important that socks, underwear, and bedsheets are new and unopened. Other clothing items can be lightly used.
Penumechchu had previously worked on creating a wellness center at her high school for victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault and wanted to continue that work while here at the Mayor’s office. She has been interning with the office since last summer.
“Throughout the process, I learned about the amazing infrastructure in our community created to support domestic abuse victims and survivors.” said Penumechchu. “WEAVE’s teams have been incredibly responsive and enthusiastic about the drive. If anything, organizing this drive only reinforced my confidence in the leadership in Sacramento.”
For questions or to get more information on items to donate email: gpenumechchu@cityofsacramento.org
