16 years old from Santa Maria, California
Gail Demition
Favorite Food: Sushi
What is their mission/cause? Helping those experiencing homelessness
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How is she doing it? Gail makes and sells a variety of greeting cards. All the money she makes from this enterprise goes right back into her community. Gail uses the proceeds from her cards to purchase essential items like blankets, towels, socks, sanitizer, gloves, food, and water for local unhoused people.
Fun Fact: Gail uses a Cricut Cutting Machine to make all her Greeting cards in her home. She and her family also give gift bags to people experiencing homelessness every Christmas after church
Inspirational quote: Gail’s family motto is to always have good courage and a kind heart. As Catholics, “giving back is an essential part of our lives.”
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Date of recording: April 27, 2022
Gail Demition may only be a highschool Sophmore, but she’s already making real change in her community of Santa Maria, CA. Recently, Gail’s been designing a variety of greeting cards in her home for an assortment of occasions. In 2021, Gail made over $300 from her card business, Gail’s Celebration Cards. What did she use that money for? All of the funds went right back to help people in her community! The money was used to purchase blankets, towels, socks, sanitizer, gloves, food and water for the local homeless.
About Gail
By Molly E. Sandwell
Many of us struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic. We struggled with boredom, isolation, and navigating online spaces. But at least we all had homes. A lot of people in Gail Demition’s hometown of Santa Maria did not.
High school sophomore Gail Demition is one girl who, in spite
of a global pandemic, saw unhoused people struggling and decided
to help.
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For the past year and a half, Gail has been designing a variety of
greeting cards in her home for her business Gail’s Celebration
Cards. Just this past year, she made over $300 from her home-
based enterprise. And what did Gail use these funds for? Grateful
to be so blessed herself, Gail funneled all the money right back
into her community, using the funds to purchase blankets, towels,
socks, sanitizer, gloves, food and water to give to those
experiencing homelessness nearby.
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“It feels great to help out the homeless community because right
now they are in desperate need,” Gail said in an interview with EveryGirl. “I feel like giving back to them makes me feel so much happier and I'm so proud about what I've accomplished by giving back to my community.”
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Homelessness in the state of California is an ongoing issue, with an estimated count of over 160,000 individuals experiencing homelessness as of January 2020 – that’s about 28% of the entire nation's unhoused population, although California itself only makes up about 12% of the national population. Unhoused individuals tend to have more health conditions than non-homeless individuals and shorter life expectancies. With inflation and housing costs continuing to soar, the problem only continues to worsen.
Gail started her card business during quarantine in late 2020 when many unhoused people were in great need. Hoping to raise more money to give supplies and give back to her community during these hard times, Gail began making cards after her mother requested that she create a birthday card for a coworker. Since then, Gail has been making an assortment of cards year-round for friends, family, and people at her school.
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Gail constructs cards for all occasions using high-quality card stock
and her Cricut cutting machine. She designs Valentine’s Day cards,
brthday cards, graduation cards, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day cards,
and Christmas cards by request.
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Interested in learning more? Check out her Instagram.
Want to help out people experiencing homelessness in your own
community? Consider raising funds through a community event,
donating supplies, or even volunteering your time at a local
homeless shelter.
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Discover more ways to help here.
Unsurprisingly though, Gail and her family have been helping
this struggling population in her community for years. Since
Gail was only three, her family has been giving gift bags to
people experiencing homelessness every Christmas Day. Every
year they’ve added more bags and items they believe are
essential to have during the winter season.
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Gail emphasized, “I also want to show that the homeless people
are an important part of our community and that they should be
supported and respected in every single way.”
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