A School Stands Behind a Community
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By Jeremy Swiger
There is an old wisdom that it takes a village to raise a child. As one local school district has taught us, sometimes that child can help raise a village. As growing concerns about taxes and school budgets force us to take an aggressive stance on either side of the issue, we can be reminded by local students what it means to give back to your community.
The students of the Central York School District are leading the charge. The Black and Orange Food Drive Competition was first started at Central York, and has since grown to include three other schools in the past year. This past year they collectively gathered over ten thousand pounds of food to feed the needy in York County. With whole school districts getting involved they were surprised to learn that their collective efforts managed to feed all those in need across the county for a single day. At these results, many who attended the awards ceremony for the competition looked like they could be knocked over with a feather. The students took the information back to their home schools, and an inspirational fire was lit.
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More students came to the York County Food Bank looking to volunteer. The Central York 7th and 8th Grade Girls Basketball Team came in two days in a row to help prepare a mailer for distribution, stock shelves, organize food, and pick orders. These young women worked hard; joking, laughing, exuding energy as they created fire brigade lines to move food and creating cheers to keep their pace in fast forward. Everyone did a fantastic job, and we are incredibly thankful for their coaches, Suzanne Wimsett (Coach Q) and Solita Day, for working with us to create a volunteer opportunity for the girls. We hope to see them back here soon to volunteer!
Central York High School went one step further, creating a Community Service class. Led by Randy Mumford and Lisa Cornbower. This class, centering entirely around volunteering within the community, invites local non-profit organizations to provide the students with information about how they can get involved to help those in need across York County. The class is a marking period long, and requires students to complete a pre determined set of hours amongst a few different non-profits. Each marking period the class seems to grow, now reaching the point that the class cannot fit in a normal classroom, and must instead, meet in an adjoining room to the cafeteria. Possibly the most impressive part of this class is that it is an elective, all of the students are there fully by choice. All of the students that have volunteered with us through this program have been excellent workers, and we cannot begin to say, not only how appreciative we are for them coming in to help out, but also how great it is to see local students put down the cell phone and Playstation controller, and pick up a box of food to help someone less fortunate then themselves.
We would like to thank everyone who has come in to give the most precious donation of all, their time. We would like to offer special thanks to the teachers, chaperones, and parents of the students who continue to amaze us. With this group of young people leading the way, we know that York County is in store for great things, and possibly end the hunger problem within our community.
For more information about volunteering call 717.846.6435 ext 104, or email jeremys@yorkfoodbank.org.
