National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence awarded by U.S. Dept. of Education

NHS Feed the Homeless

As part of the National Honor Society, each member is responsible for serving a minimum of 30 service hours at a local nonprofit organization. NHS members have the responsibility to raise personal awareness of issues teenagers face. Coupled with their interests in the area they choose for service, they are also given the responsibility to spread healthy habits to their school community and impact school culture. This year, members are focusing their attention on adolescent homelessness, which is an issue that is often overlooked when talking about the difficulties many teens face. This month, the senior members joined Bridges-Feed the Homeless, an organization based in Summit, NJ, that fights to reduce the cases of homeless people seen each year. They distributed over 300 meals, with the food they prepared the night before, to the hungry. Accompanied by a group of students from West New Jersey, they later visited a local shelter where they distributed warm clothing and personal toiletries to the residents.Students are learning that the circumstances under which others find themselves homeless vary from individual to individual. By educating themselves they learned that they can be part of the solution, and can help others understand these valuable lessons as well. Later this year, students will attend the Bridges Teens Tackle Homelessness Conference at Kent Place School in Summit, NJ. They will network and brainstorm with peers from different parts of New Jersey to raise awareness and help decrease the number of teenagers that find themselves homeless each year.