Shorewood Students Organize Food Drive

Submitted by Troy School District 30-C

Photo: Troy Shorewood Elementary School Student Ambassadors, including these representatives, from left, Noah Miller, Michelle Babyak, Caitlynn Baranak and Esteban Bernal, organized a food drive in their school that they will donate to local food banks. Also pictured, from left: Shorewood Assistant Principal Matt Oldenburg, Counselor Carrie Ienco and Principal Julie Mancione.

Troy Shorewood Elementary School’s Student Ambassadors organized a food and essential items drive this month for canned goods and other non-perishable food items, shampoo and articles of personal hygiene, diapers and baby food. The donations will be given to pantries that serve local needs, such as St. John Lutheran Church Food Pantry and the Northern Illinois Food Bank.

This is the first year for the Troy Community School District 30-C school’s Student Ambassadors program. Its goal is to provide students with the opportunity to be leaders and positively influence changes for their school and community. School counselor and club sponsor Carrie Ienco said it has been going well.

“We are ecstatic about the outpouring of donations and generosity that Socktober and Yes-ember have inspired,” Ienco said. “We hope to continue to enlighten our students and school by spreading our simple message of ‘Be the change!’”

The Student Ambassadors is composed of fourth-graders appointed by their teachers. They serve as equal leaders, with each member having an opportunity to run a meeting and help set goals.

The ambassadors’ first project this year was to collect new socks, hats, gloves, jackets and scarves in a drive they called, “Socktober.” The drive saw donations of more than 1,123 items, including hand-knitted scarves and gloves, which were given to Morningstar Mission.