Siblings honored by MLK Foundation

Addisyn Goss and her family spent the last weekend of spring break out of town, but it wasn’t for a typical vacation like many families take this time of year.

She and her family traveled to Atlanta, Georgia where Addisyn, 11, and siblings Sheridan, 16 and Jaxson, 13, were among 15 young Americans recognized by the Martin Luther King Foundation for their humanitarian efforts.

The founder of Snuggle Sacks — Survival Kits for the Homeless, Addisyn was just 8 years old in 2015 when she met her estranged grandfather, who had been homeless for a number of years. She made it her mission to fight the reality of homelessness, by providing bags of basic necessities and distributing them in the poverty-ravaged streets of Flint.

Yolanda Renee King, granddaughter of Martin Luther King and Maryn Rippy, granddaughter of A.D. King, Martin’s younger brother, hosted the youths on Saturday, April 7 at the Georgia Freight Depot for “their extraordinary work for humanity.”

This event was the culmination of a week of special events honoring Martin Luther King on the 50th anniversary of his assassination on April 4, 1968.

The Martin Luther King Foundation called Addisyn to let her know that she had been selected for this once-in-a-lifetime honor. All three siblings were honored, but Addisyn spoke on behalf of the group as the founder/CEO.

Her entire family became involved in homeless relief efforts, including her siblings; her mother, Stacy Daul; her stepdad, Andrew Daul and her dad, Jason Goss. “Both of her dads are very involved,” Stacy said. “They alternate taking days off to make deliveries, attend non-profit meetings, and so on.”

“It’s nearly impossible to put into words the experience we had,” Stacy said. “We met so many influential members of the King family, plus all the other kids who were also honored for making a difference. To know that the King family sought my kids out and invited them to this is amazing, and the ultimate honor and moment of pride.”

The Goss siblings also were introduced to Martin Luther King III and Dr. Bernice King, children of Martin Luther King, Jr.

“The kids said it is the highest honor they have ever received,” Stacy said.

Since those early days of Snuggle Sacks, when the Dauls’ home basement was used as a distribution warehouse, this cause has grown from not just one family’s mission, but to a cause embraced by the Fenton area community, as well as nationally.

Addisyn was featured in USA Today one year ago, raising awareness of Snuggle Sacks to a national cause.

Now officially a registered non-profit organization, Snuggle Sacks packs about 500 bags each month, filled with new socks, gloves, small blankets, lip balm, applesauce, toothbrush/toothpaste, hand/foot warmers, raisins, crackers or any protein-type snack, travel-size toiletries, personal hygiene items and much more.

These bags are then distributed to the homeless through shelters, state organizations and street outreach, now extended to Lansing and Detroit Metro areas. Snuggle Sacks works with Carriage Town Ministries and Homeless Angels to distribute, as well as various other organizations.

Each Snuggle Sack costs about $10, from the price of the bag to its contents, and the cost is paid for through individual donations and partnershipswith local businesses.

Even more than the gift of these survival bags is the human touch provided by the Goss and Daul families to the homeless people they encounter. “They don’t get treated as humans,” Stacy said. “The crying, the hugging, that goes further than the bag does. I still get teary-eyed every single time.”

One of Snuggle Sacks’ biggest milestones was moving into its new office/warehouse next to Animal Health Clinic in Fenton five months ago. Packing days at the warehouse are usually Wednesdays and Sundays and people can sign up to volunteer or make donations on the organization’s website, snugglesacks.org. On Saturdays, the family delivers the bags to about 15 shelters.

The Daul family has added homeless advocacy to the Snuggle Sacks cause, attending Homeless Advocacy Day in Lansing on Wednesday, April 11, hoping to change the system for getting identification cards. This is one of the biggest obstacles for the homeless in securing jobs and housing, Stacy said.

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