Each fall, the first day of classes and the kick-off of Storm King’s Service Learning Program go hand in hand. This year, the program is off to a great start with some new approaches to accommodate the various ways our students are learning this year.
On the very first weekend of school, several students volunteered to assist the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley in its fight to ease food insecurity in the region. On Saturday, September 19, a small group of students participated in a 2-hour shift at the organization’s Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY warehouse.
During their shift, hundreds of pounds of donated food were inspected, sorted, and packaged for distribution to thousands of people in need. The following day, another group of SKS volunteers traveled to the Hudson Valley Lab Research Orchard in Highland, NY to glean apples for the Food Bank to distribute. As they enjoyed the fall weather, the students succeeded in gathering several bushels of apples which were added to the thousands of pounds ready for distribution.
According to Director of Service Learning Ben Harnick, food insecurity has been magnified in our region due to the pandemic. “The Hudson Valley Food Bank has seen the need for its services grow by about 40% in recent weeks,” explained Mr. Harnick. “Volunteering our time with the Food Bank is a safe and easy way to make an impact on combating hunger in our surrounding communities.”
“The pandemic has reshaped how we approach community service,” continued Mr. Harnick. “Out of an abundance of caution, we must be more selective than ever about where we send our students for off-campus service. We will be arranging outdoor opportunities whenever possible, and otherwise ensuring that the organizations we volunteer with have proper health and safety precautions in place.”
Closer to home, the School will offer more on-campus service this year, and a large line-up of online service opportunities will be presented to our remote learners. “On campus, we will be doing simple maintenance tasks, gardening, litter pick-ups, assisting Black Rock Forest with invasive species removal, and much more,” explained Mr. Harnick.
“For our remote learners, activities such as tutoring elementary age students over the internet, playing online games with senior citizens, providing assistance with data entry for non-profits, conducting letter-writing campaigns, and other methods of volunteering are only some of the opportunities we will make available. Our aim this year is to maximize participation with all of our learners, and offer something for everyone.”
