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Henderson High School Students Helping Students
Henderson High School Students Helping Students
Henderson High School Chapter of Students Helping Students
Back Row (left to right) – Abigal Montgomery, Kerry Montgomery, Kylee McElhiney, Jenna Parke, Kate Gordon, Shannon Earley, Sara Lieffrig, Sam Martin, Mary King, Sophia Griffin
Front Row, (left to right) - Olivia Pritchard, McKenna Sheperd, Jamie Worth, Grace Zandi, Anna Tooke
The spirit of volunteerism is alive and well in the West Chester Area School District. Students from the Henderson High School chapter of Students Helping Students (SHS) recently gave up a day of August sunshine to pack up science textbooks no longer being used in the district to send to underprivileged schools in Philadelphia. Fugett Middle School science teacher Kerry Montgomery helped organize the book packing session.
"The district was able to purchase a new science textbook series for middle school students," said Montgomery. "With that being said, our current textbooks were up for grabs. We were looking for options for what we could do with them since most of the books were in good condition, which led us to Students Helping Students.”
Grace Zandi is the co-president of the Henderson High School chapter of SHS. Working together, Zandi and her fellow volunteers packed up over 2-thousand textbooks at Fugett Middle School to send to three schools in Philadelphia - Green Tree Elementary School, Edward T. Steel Elementary School, and G.W. Childs Elementary School.
"The books are going to be stored here at Fugett until we can make arrangements to transport them to the schools," said Zandi. "We don't have a date yet, but they should be there in time for the start of school. We have a lot of resources here in the West Chester Area School District and Students Helping Students is all about sharing those resources with students that don't have them. These books are in great condition. They're going to crazy over them!"
SHS is a local non-profit organization created by Grace Zandi’s cousin, Bill Zandi. Zandi was a freshman at Great Valley School District in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans."I wanted to do something to help," said Zandi. "I saw that many schools in the 9th Ward were flooded, so I called the Louisiana Department of Education and I asked what could be done to help. They said that schools could use some new materials, supplies, and furnishings. Coincidentally, my high school was going through a large renovation project, and they were getting rid of a lot of materials and furnishings. I went to the principal and asked if, instead of throwing the stuff out, could I send it to Louisiana? He said 'sure,' so I raised the money and sent two tractor-trailers full of materials to nine different schools in the 9th Ward."
"I wanted to do something to help," said Zandi. "I saw that many schools in the 9th Ward were flooded, so I called the Louisiana Department of Education and I asked what could be done to help. They said that schools could use some new materials, supplies, and furnishings. Coincidentally, my high school was going through a large renovation project, and they were getting rid of a lot of materials and furnishings. I went to the principal and asked if, instead of throwing the stuff out, could I send it to Louisiana? He said 'sure,' so I raised the money and sent two tractor-trailers full of materials to nine different schools in the 9th Ward."
“I got such positive feedback, that I decided I needed to continue the effort," added Zandi. Initially, the focus of SHS was going to be a disaster relief effort, but when I attended Wake Forest University in North Carolina, I realized the disparity between schools that had things and those that did not, and it was not due to natural disaster, it was due to economic circumstance. So, that’s what spawned the idea of turning this into a non-profit."
There are currently 12 local chapters of SHS, including the club at Henderson High School. Zandi said there are emerging chapters in California, Georgia, and North Carolina. The organization's ultimate goal is to expand to wherever schools are in need of supplies.
In addition to providing supplies to low-income schools, volunteers with SHS can also take part in student mentoring.
"I’ve helped mentor students at G.W. Childs and Overbrook Educational Center,” said Grace Zandi. “We've been to the schools; we see what they need. We help them with their schoolwork. It's a fantastic experience. I'm also working with one of the schools to help them get soccer jerseys for their soccer program."
Bill Zandi said the volunteer aspect has been very rewarding for all students involved.
"It gives the student volunteers from more affluent school districts a great experience in a world that they are not typically familiar with; they’re outside of their comfort zone. It gives them a good frame of reference that a large disparity exists, very close to them,” said Zandi.
“On the other side, we’ve seen a trickle-down effect," Zandi added. "Those that are typically in need of mentors turn around and volunteer at other schools in their community because they found it be such a positive experience.”
To learn more about Students Helping Students, log on www.students-helping-students.org.
For more information, please contact Ms. Jennifer Neill, Digital Communications Coordinator, at 484-266-1171 or jneill@wcasd.net