At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, youth mentorship program founder Aje Hill began bringing food to the children in his program in what he called “hope boxes.” Soon, he realized that their parents were going hungry too.
With the help of other I Believe in Me mentors and community leaders, Hill began a weekly drive-through food drive to serve not only individuals in the program, but anyone in Frederick, Maryland who needed help getting groceries.
The volunteers who led the effort come from a myriad of backgrounds. Monte Williams, like Hill, spent time in prison and now works as an IBM youth mentor. Jazmin Di Cola, a native of San Salvador, El Salvador, is a community organizer who ran for Frederick County Council. And Brad Young, a tenth-generation Fredericktonian and son of a former Frederick Mayor, is the president of the Frederick County Board of Education. With their investment and connections, the food drive grew.
Hill estimates that during the two years they operated the drive, they provided 300 to 450 families a week’s worth of groceries every Monday. That adds up to more than 3 million meals to over 90,000 people.
“I put poison in the communities, destruction, violence, drugs,” Hill said. “Now I’m putting light, [and] food. So to me, that seems like a hope dealer.”