A Portage Life in the Spotlight: Jesse Oswald

Jessica ‘Jesse’ Oswald started making Easter baskets for the Portage area homeless about a decade ago. She refers to her efforts as her Easter Basket Project, and it was a middle school class that originally inspired her to launch it.

“I was in sixth grade at Discovery Charter School, and I took an elective called Semester of Service,” she said. “In the class we volunteered at the local homeless women and children’s shelter, Gabriel’s Horn. One of the girls in the class wanted to start a Christmas project to give gifts to the homeless at the shelter, and I realized that they probably did not receive Easter baskets.”

To this day, Oswald creates baskets for each member of Gabriel’s Horn. The number of baskets varies depending on the number of women and children at the shelter. Sometimes she uses giant bags, and sometimes she uses actual baskets.

“Some years I’ve done as few as 10 or 12,” Oswald said. “For a couple of years, I have done 20 Easter baskets, which is the maximum amount.”

Oswald mainly relies on her own savings to fund the baskets each year. Sometimes she receives charitable donations from community members that contribute to funding her Easter Basket Project. 

“Generally, when donating, they use Venmo to contribute,” Oswald said.

However, as mentioned above, Oswald mainly uses her own savings to fund the project.

“One year,  I contributed $1K to purchase products for the baskets. I was happy to do it,” Oswald said. “When others give, their donations vary from around $10 to over $100. I’m always grateful, no matter the amount.”

When they receive the baskets, the children’s and mother’s reactions are priceless.

“They are always so excited,” Oswald said. “It’s really nice to see.”

Oswald recently began including a notebook in the women’s basket and writing messages in it. 

“For the past several years, I have been writing a message in the notebook of each woman at the shelter as a little bit of inspiration in their more difficult times,” she said.

She also recently began crocheting Easter bunnies for each woman as another form of inspiration. 

“Last year, I also crocheted each woman a mini Easter bunny, in hopes that every time they look at it, they will remember there is at least one person out there rooting for them,” Oswald said.

The children’s baskets will include a current character or brand trend, and while Oswald doesn’t leverage a giving tree to see what the children want for Easter, she works with the team at Gabriel’s Horn each year to learn more about what the children are interested in. 

“Sometimes it’s themed like the children’s character Bluey, and I’ll buy toys, clothes, etc. around that theme. Other times, I learn what kind of basic items they need, like socks,” Oswald said.

Those interested in working with Oswald by donating to her cause can reach out to her on her Facebook page, which is listed under her name. She is doing great work in the community and is very passionate about how she is giving back.