HIGH SCHOOL NEWS
Brentwood Borough School District rentwood Borough SCHOOL DISTRICT NEWS
National Honor Society Helps Local Food Pantry
By : Ms . Megan Casey
Frigid temperatures did not stop Brentwood High School ’ s National Honor Society from fulfilling their service project of helping to provide local families with holiday food , gifts and books .
Despite air temperatures in the low teens , 47 high school students spent the day volunteering at the Stewart Avenue Lutheran Church Food Pantry to assist them in preparing for their monthly food distribution .
Students donned extra layers to help unpack a moving truck filled with 4,200 pounds of food received from the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank , which distributes food to local food pantries . Once the food was wheeled into the church basement , one group of students unpacked the boxes and began the careful process of counting out items into bags that are distributed to food bank clients each month . Vicki Murrio , the director of the food bank , directed the students , making sure that each bag contained the proper amount and selection of items to ensure that clients had enough to eat .
“ Having the students here is so helpful ,” Murrio said , explaining that it normally would take a much longer time for her and the other volunteers at the church to unpack and prepare all the food .
While some students bagged food , other students also arranged new and gently used gift donations into a “ Santa Shop ”, enabling the food bank clients and their children to pick out gifts for each other .
A third group of students cheerfully sorted donated books into age levels , and prepared bags of books for each child whose family uses the food bank .
This is the third year that the students have completed their group service project at the food bank .
“ Seeing that there is a need for food in their local community is an eye-opener for many of them ,” said NHS sponsor Megan Casey . “ I think it really makes them consider how important their volunteer work truly is to people who may be their neighbors and friends .”
70 Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall