By SAM NEWMAN
On Thursday, December 5th, the Jericho High School French Honor Society held their second annual bagged lunch event, a project where students in the club make sandwiches to distribute to Long Island’s homeless and hungry via the Huntington Interfaith Homeless Initiative. Over 30 students participated and made more than 250 bagged lunches.
“I’m really proud of how successful this project is,” said senior Lauren Goldstein, the Jericho student in charge of the event. “It makes me really happy to see French Honor Society members work together in service to our community.”
Lauren started this project last year as a part of a class project in the BOLT class. The BOLT class is an opportunity at Jericho High School in which students develop strong character and leadership skills as they promote positive initiatives in our school and local communities. Each student takes on a personal project or new initiative specific to their personal goals.
Originally a fundraiser run by the BOLT class, the lunch bagging event has found a permanent home with the Jericho branch of the French Honor Society. “Congratulations to all the students who gave their time to make a difference by providing a meal for people in the community. Doing this is great work!” said JHS French teacher and French Honor Society advisor Monika Bloom.
According to Goldstein, “Last year more than 50 students packed more than 200 lunches, far surpassing my original goal of 120 lunches, the organization’s weekly distribution requirement,” She was proud to exceed her goal for this year of 200 bags by more than 50.
Goldstein has passed on the leadership position to Maddie Kaufman since she will be graduating at the end of this school year. Maddie is eager to continue the tradition next year and hopes to increase the amount of participants and the amount of lunches. “There is no limit on the number of people we can help, ” Kaufman said.
“I see the impact of our project when I deliver the lunches to the Huntington Family Service League,” Goldstein said. “The people who receive the lunches are so grateful for our assistance, and I’m really proud of the work that we’ve done.”
