Santa Maria junior high students are giving back to the community.
Students in the Arellanes Junior High Leadership classes will create 400 "Smiley Bags" filled with supplies for homeless people in the area, according to a district official.
The bags will be filled with items that someone who is homeless can use, such as a rain poncho, mylar blanket, toothpaste, socks and snacks.
The students are also including personal notes in each baggie, which will be identified with a happy face sticker.
The project is a community service effort developed and organized by the students. The 7th and 8th graders raised money through school events such as a dance and water bottle sales to purchase the supplies for the bags.
Staff members and students' families also donated funds, as well as a local church.
This will take place on Tuesday, May 2 from 9 to 10 a.m.
