Devon Students Supply Homeless With Snacks

Caption: Devon Prep Middle School students, from left Eighth Graders Colin Fulmer of Broomall, Luca Miraldi of West Chester and Steven Van Zelst of Newtown Square, and Sixth Graders Keller Mardis of Phoenixville, Jacob Wethman of Chester Springs and Zachary Kennedy of Phoenixville delivered more than 500 snack bags to Safe Harbor Homeless Shelter in West Chester. Fifty of Devon Prep’s Middle School students assembled the snack bags as a community service project.

“What happens when you put 50 middle school boys in a room together with hundreds of snack foods at the end of the school day?”

That’s the question asked by Devon Prep’s Christian Action Program (CAP).

The answer, it turns out, is a very successful community service project.

CAP organized “Brown Bag Bonanza” for the school’s sixth, seventh and eighth graders on a recent afternoon, a press release from Devon Prep stated.

The goal was to assemble as many snack bags as possible for Safe Harbor Homeless Shelter in West Chester. The result was over 500 bags filled with oatmeal packets, nutragrain bars, granola bars, peanut butter crackers pretzels, etc., and a new appreciation for helping the needy.

“Many homeless shelters serve two meals a day and at very specific times,” said Mrs. Elizabeth Eshleman, moderator of CAP. “There are times when someone might come to the shelter but have missed meal time. “Brown Bag Bonanza” was created so that shelters can offer someone a snack bag to provide them with nourishment to get them to the next meal.”

According to Eshleman the project was a fun, easy way to get the energetic and enthusiastic Middle School students involved in giving back to the less fortunate. The boys agreed. “I participated because it was a good thing for a great cause” said Seventh Grader Andrew Ranaudo of Malvern. Fellow seventh grader Ryan Bill of Phoenixville thought the project was “was chaotic but in a good way.”

Eshleman and six of the students delivered the snack bags to Safe Harbor where they were greeted by Mr. Glenn Fricke, Safe Harbor CEO. Fricke gratefully accepted their donations and even gave the boys a tour of the shelter. Although preparing the bags helped all the students become aware of the existence of the homeless in Chester County, for the six who delivered the bags the need became a reality.

“By having this first-hand experience and learning about all the good that volunteers do for their operation, the boys’ eyes were opened to how our fun service project impacts the greater good.,” explained Eshleman. “Since our visit, some of the delivery helpers have gone back to their Boy Scout troops to create their own project to help Safe Harbor. They are helping to spread the word about the importance of helping the less fortunate.”

One of those spreading the word is Colin Fulmer of Broomall. The eighth grader said he participated in the service project because “I always feel good when I give back to the community and those less fortunate. Touring the homeless shelter I got to see so many donations from different people which inspires me to do more to give back to the community.”

Fulmer is also considering building shelving for the men’s quarters at Safe Harbor as part of his future Eagle Scout project.

Safe Harbor (http://www.safeharborofgwc.org/) is a non-profit charitable organization whose mission is to provide shelter, food and access to support services in a structured environment for homeless single men and women in Chester County. Although the shelter has sleeping facilities for 20 men and 20 women the shelter feeds many others daily.