Compassion Connection 2014-2015 Portfolio of Community Service

For the 2014-2015 School Year, Preston High School’s Compassion Connection Club decided to focus on “children in need.” This was a topic chosen by our students. Many have younger siblings, but most are blessed to live peaceful, provided-for lives. Our girls decided that many children are not so lucky, and that we should help them.

A charity that works with such children, and is closest to us, is the “Preston Center of Compassion: Big Sister Little Sister Program.” This is a local organization which pairs up under-privileged 3rd grade girls with Preston High School girls, for a year-long weekly meeting relationship. For Cablevision’s Charity Champions Competition, Compassion Connection chose “Big Sister Little Sister” as its recipient charity. On numerous occasions (to be described in the remainder of this report in the months of September, November, December, January, and March) Compassion Connection organized events and collections for these girls and their families, as well as this program.

In addition, Compassion Connection did a variety of other community outreach projects that focused on the theme of “children in need” which served other organizations as well.

Compassion Connection did fundraising and community outreach projects every month throughout the school year.

September 17th

Club Bake Sale - Proceeds were eventually used to purchase supplies for a December Sing-a-long Event with Big Sister Little Sister.

October 3rd – November 14th

Preston’s Compassion Connection Food Drive collected 6038 pounds of nonperishable food from the majority of the Preston’s students (+/- 500 students participated). This food was donated to the following organizations:

-Every family of a Little Sister received a full large canvas bag of food, as well as a 20 lb bag of rice-Shepherd’s Flock (a Divine Compassion Ministry that works with the working poor in White Plains)

received a mini-van full of food-Fishes & Loaves Food Pantry in Dover Plains NY received a pick-up truck full of food-Mercy Center in the Bronx NY received a pick-up truck full of food-St. John’s Soup Kitchen in Newark NJ received 450 pounds of rice

24 sets of food for Little Sisters

December 3rd

Dance Marathon (attended by 95 students) – raised funds for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. These $200 covered the costs of blood tests for 40 babies in St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

December 9th

Tri-generational Christmas Carol Sing-a-long (57 students participated) provided an opportunity for the girls in Big Sister Little Sister to join with Preston High School students and senior citizens from the Preston Center of Compassion for an afternoon of hot chocolate, baked goods, and Christmas Caroling. All Little Sisters and Senior Citizens received a Christmas gift of a “Compassion” T- Shirt. To add to the fun, Preston’s own Step Team did a performance!(As an added bonus, because 57 students participated in this event, GenerationOn’s “Joymaker Challenge” coordinated for Hasbro to donate 57 toys to “Toys for Tots.”)

January 20th

Club Bake Sale - Proceeds were eventually used to purchase supplies for the Big Sister Little Sister Spring Bingo Event.

Valentine’s Day Cookie Gram SaleFebruary 9th – 12th (with about 20 students baking) raised $150, which were used to purchase Infant Formula for needy families that receive help from Shepherd’s Flock.

March 34th

Big Sister Little Sister Spring Bingo (coordinated and run by 20 club members)After snacks and several fun games of bingo, the Little Sisters participated in an Easter egg hunt. Every little girl went home with an Easter basket filled with treats, as well as candy-filled plastic eggs.

Ongoing Yearlong ProjectThroughout the year, on at least 1 Friday a month, spare change was collected during school lunches.

This collection, called “Food Fest Friday,” was then used to make donations to organizations who feed the hungry. This year $20 donations were made to each of the following: City Harvest, NY Rescue Mission, Catholic Charities, and Food Bank for New York City.

April 26th

Cardboard City (attended by 55 students) was a homeless/hunger awareness event, sponsoired by GenerationOn, which took place on the back lawn of the school. It was a full day event which included

-an educational piece - talks, discussions about such issues-an experiential component - students built a cardboard home and “lived” in it for a day, their only

food throughout the day is a “soup kitchen line” cup of soup and 4 saltine crackers-a community outreach component – attending students donated 100 canned goods and 25 boxes of

cereal, and ham-cheese-baloney sandwiches were made for bagged lunches, which were distributed by Lamp Ministries to the homeless on the streets in the Manhattan.)