DCS Montessori students provide help and hope
By Julie Matuszewski; photos courtesy of DCS Montessori
Ready to give of their time, students Bella Heick, Adam Reljanovic, Bryce Grafton, Ben DeBord, Logan Kenney, Sophia Azzolina, Clara Sheppard, Renee Burton and Samantha Roskopf provide light storeroom cleaning at the Help & Hope Center.
Every three weeks, students of the DCS Montessori middle school Action, Creation, Exploration (ACE) program get to choose a class based on their interests. In February, students chose to learn more about the Douglas/Elbert Help & Hope Center.
Expanding on class discussions, students spent time volunteering at the center. They were able to look closely at what emergency services and family support looks like in the community.
Middle school teacher Rebecca Jones wanted her ACE students to understand that there is a need for support in the community and to truly experience and see what that need looks like. ACE students worked in the food pantry cleaning, restocking shelves and preparing emergency food bags for clients.
Help & Hope Center student volunteer Renee Burton stays busy during her shift packaging fresh apples for the food pantry.
Student Ben DeBord said it was fun to volunteer with his friends and to help people in our community. DeBord, with fellow classmates, worked hard building The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) packages. TEFAP is a federal program that helps supplement the diets of low-income Americans by providing them with emergency food assistance at no cost. To date, Help & Hope Center has helped 18,000 families in need by providing more than 420 tons of food and more than $1.9 million in assistance.
To learn more about donating or volunteering visit, www.helpandhopecenter.org.
