A mission that was born 12 years ago at the Eisenhower Intermediate School has risen to spectacular heights.
Eisenhower’s highly successful and productive Helping Hands, a service learning club, joined forces with the school’s Student Council and worked with the organization Rise Against Hunger 12 years ago.
The rest is history.
So, the passionate and energetic leaders of Helping Hands, Gretchen Alvarez and Stephanie Rovi, two dedicated 6th Grade Teachers at Eisenhower, who built this project, coordinated their final chapter on Monday, June 15.
On that day, Ms. Alvarez, Ms. Rovi, Deb Ronning,5th Grade Teacher and Co-Advisor to the Student Council with Kim Patullo, the school’s Counselor, spearheaded the project with assistance and sound help from students and Principal Dr. Laura Bassett, Assistant Principal Brian Smith and a guest visitor, Dr. Dan Fonder, Assistant Superintendent for the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District.
They worked with a representative from Rise Against Hunger, a humanitarian organization that packs and provides meals to students around the globe who need nourishing food.
Ms. Alvarez, Ms. Rovi and Ms. Ronning are leaving Eisenhower after their brilliant tenures there and will continue to educate students at the Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School, which has expanded and will now house Grades 6 through 8 in September.
Ms. Alvarez and Ms. Rovi shared their passion for Helping Hands and the heart-warming annual project with Rise Against Hunger.
Here is their story.
“Eisenhower began partnering with Rise Against Hunger 12 years ago. At the time, a Student Council member participated in a food packaging event during Take Your Child to Work Day with a parent and thought it would be worthwhile to bring the experience to Eisenhower. The idea was eventually shared with us by Ms. (Kim) Patullo, one of the Student Council advisors, as we had recently established Eisenhower’s service learning club, Helping Hands. Since that first food-packaging event, a collaborative effort between Helping Hands and the Student Council, Eisenhower students have packaged more than 100,000 meals through Rise Against Hunger.”
“Each year, Helping Hands and Student Council students participate in a fundraiser through David’s Cookies, coordinated by Ms. Patullo, selling cheesecake and cookie dough to raise the funds needed to bring Rise Against Hunger to Eisenhower. This year, we raised enough money to package 12,000 meals, the highest total yet. Once the funds are secured, we (Mrs. Alvarez and Ms. Rovi) work closely with the Rise Against Hunger staff to coordinate the event logistics.”
“The culmination of these efforts is one of the most exciting and meaningful events we hold each year: our food packaging event with Rise Against Hunger. Students work in teams to complete tasks that are essential to creating nutritious meals. They fill bags with rice, soy, vitamins, and dehydrated vegetables. The bags are then weighed to ensure they contain the correct amount of ingredients before being sealed, labeled, and boxed for shipment to communities in need worldwide. One of the most anticipated moments of the day is ringing the gong to celebrate the completion of every 1,000 meals. The enthusiasm is contagious, and the energy in the Eisenhower gym is incredible. Watching students come together with such purpose, teamwork, and joy to help others is truly inspiring.”
“Due to the district restructuring, Helping Hands will look different at the intermediate level next year, and the activities and events offered will naturally evolve. We are grateful for the opportunity to participate in one final food packaging event at Eisenhower with this group of students. Throughout this year, Helping Hands members read to kindergarten classes at JFK, hosted the annual Senior Citizen Breakfast, partnered with the BRHS student-led nonprofit organization YouthCare Connect to package care items for those in need, and participated in many other service projects. While each experience has been meaningful, the Rise Against Hunger food packaging event remains one of the activities students look forward to most each year.”
“Because we will both be moving to Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School next year, our time as Eisenhower’s Helping Hands advisors will come to an end. We are beyond proud of the impact our students have made both within our local community and beyond through the years. Their dedication to service, kindness, generosity, and willingness to help others has been at the heart of every Helping Hands initiative, and the Rise Against Hunger event serves as a powerful reminder of what students can accomplish when they work together for a greater purpose. “
“This powerful experience would not be possible without support from so many within the Eisenhower community. We would like to express our gratitude to the many people who have helped make this event possible over the years. We are especially thankful to our administration, Dr. (Laura) Bassett and Mr. (Brian) Smith, for their continued support, our Physical Education staff for generously accommodating the event in the gym each year, and our custodial staff for their help with cleanup. Their support has been instrumental in the success of this event and has allowed our students to have this meaningful service opportunity year after year.
They then delivered their final comments on what has been a wonderful journey for both Ms. Alvarez and Ms. Rovi.
"Our goal as Helping Hands advisors has always been to show students that they have the power to make a difference in the world. Through our partnership with Rise Against Hunger, students see firsthand that every meal they package can make a difference in someone's life. We hope these experiences inspire our students to continue serving others and making a positive impact in their communities,” Ms. Alvarez said.
“I think our meal packaging event with Rise Against Hunger perfectly illustrates the reason that Mrs. Alvarez and I wanted to create a service learning organization (Helping Hands) for students at Eisenhower. We wanted our students to realize that every task, no matter how small it may seem, holds an opportunity to do good. Small group contributions as part of a greater collective effort have the potential to bring about a widespread positive and meaningful impact,” Ms Rovi said.
Their impact will long be cherished.