Greenwich School To Host Holiday Season Food Drive

Via Whitby School: GREENWICH, CT — Whitby School students will load a truck delivering Food Drive collections to Neighbor To Neighbor on Nov. 20.

"We are working with Neighbor To Neighbor, an organization that provides food and clothing to Greenwich residents in need," school officials said in a statement. "Our goal is to fill 40 crates in 14 days, and time is running out."

Students brainstormed ideas for promoting this food drive, which runs for a two-week period, and created posters and flyers to hang around Whitby School.

The flyers explain that they have organized a food drive to benefit Neighbor to Neighbor. This organization, which is Greenwich’s only food pantry, improves lives by providing for the exchange of food, clothing and basic living essentials in an atmosphere of kindness and respect.

Over 1,000 people visit the Neighbor to Neighbor food pantry every month, and half of all food distributed is received through individual food donations and food drives while half is purchased with donated funds.

An integral part of Whitby's middle school program is students' commitment to community service. When students get involved in community service, they not only help others, they expand their worldview, develop empathy and leadership skills, and realize how their actions can have a positive impact.

They also return to the classroom realizing how what they are learning applies to the real world, which reinvigorates their passion for learning.

Whitby officials said they found that students benefit greatly, both academically and emotionally, from volunteering their time to make the community and world a better place. Studies show that students who give back to the community perform better in school, particularly in subjects such as math, reading and history.

"Whitby has been a consistent supporter of Neighbor to Neighbor's efforts in food drives, clothing drives, and our annual toy drive," Neighbor to Neighbor Operations Manager Duncan Lawson said in a statement. "Whitby is also reaching out to our community this holiday season by creating buddy bags filled with healthy children's snacks to be given to our client's children. Neighbor to Neighbor is always thrilled to greet Santa and the students from Whitby when they arrive by bus, as they have in years past, with donations for our annual toy drive. We are honored to work in partnership with Whitby School."

Whitby officials said their goal is to empower students to affect change and discover the impact they can have on our campus, within the local community and beyond. To find out more about Whitby students involvement in community service, click here.