Students Organize Donated Food for Needy Families

A dedicated group of Wayne Hills High School students made sure that some Wayne families enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner Thursday.

More than 100 students from the school’s national honor society collected vegetables and created bundles of food for needy families for Thanksgiving.

“We’re not just defined by sports or academics,” said Yena Lee, a 17-year-old senior and one of the organizers of the charitable effort. “We wanted to do something to help out the community that’s given so much to us. We wanted to give back.”

Students took potatoes, carrots, string beans, and other foods, separated them and put one of each into baskets in the gymnasium this week.

The food was donated to families who were impacted by Hurricane Sandy or who just needed a little extra help this holiday season.

“It says so much about these kids that they would be willing to give their time to help assist those who need some help,” said Beth O’Leary, a history teacher and faculty advisory for the national honor society.

The food was donated to about 50 families on Wednesday.

Participation in the activity was voluntary. It is the second major charitable food drive held at the school this holiday season.

Dozens of students sorted through thousands of pounds of donated food earlier this month. That food was also donated to needy local families.

The national honor society holds other charitable events and fundraisers throughout the year.

“We’ll wrap presents, donate food like we’re doing now, anything that we can do to help the community,” said Gregory Beltran, who helped organize the event with Lee. “We try to continually come up with new and different things to serve the community.”

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