Lubbock woman makes baskets for recent high school grads

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - More than 60 recent graduates on the South Plains now have baskets full of supplies with some motivation on the side. A Lubbock woman hopes Adopt a Senior will connect graduates with their local support system.

Tiffany Lilly-Essix said these baskets are her way of encouraging them to keep up the good work, after they just recently walked across the stage.

“Not all kids have that environment or have a parent that will be very active in their lives,” Lilly-Essix said.

Tiffany founded her non-profit Brittany and Devins Angels more than 15 years ago in honor of her sister and nephew who died. Her goal is to be there for others.

“We try to do different events throughout the year that is really engaged with the youth, mainly because the youth is our future,” Lilly-Essix said.

This time, she is helping 2023 high school graduates. She started Adopt a Senior and asked those who knew a graduate to give her their name and what they do in the community, what they did in high school or if they want to go to college.

“I tried to reach out to a lot of the teachers, coaches, ‘Hey if y’all have a kid this is free all you got to do is nominate their name,’” Lilly-Essix said.

With help from donations, she handled the rest. Lilly-Essix put together baskets full of supplies, snacks and other necessities. Her main goal is to show them someone is there to help.

“That you can go to college. There’s people out there that will help you if you need help with your FASFA, if you need help just applying for school, there is people and it’s strangers that will come out and help you with that process,” Lilly-Essix said.

Lilly-Essix set up at Patterson Library to hand out the gifts Saturday at 4 p.m. She said she hopes this will be a positive addition to their life that keeps them on track.

“We want to be able to give the kids something showing you have people that care about you, and we want to try to spread some type of positivity to the kids as well to let them know it’s okay to make a mistake, learn from the mistake and you have people that are going to support you,” Lilly-Essix said.

More than 60 recent graduates from Lubbock ISD, Roosevelt and Lubbock-Cooper received baskets filled with supplies and love.

Lilly-Essix does other events throughout the community supporting others. She said you can help her with donations by reaching out to her on Facebook here.

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