Members of Elwood-John H. Glenn High School’s World Language Honor Society and International Club worked hard assembling holiday-decorated shoeboxes for “Operation Christmas Child” on Nov. 22. 

Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international relief organization whose mission is to provide local partners around the world with shoeboxes filled with small toys, hygiene items and school supplies for the holidays. These gifts are shipped to families outside of the United States to help bring joy to children affected by war, poverty, natural disaster, famine and disease, in addition to children living on Native American reservations in the U.S.

Items were donated from students in Nicole Correia’s American Sign Language and Nicole Gendjoian’s Spanish classes, as well as members of the World Language Honor Society. Students donated a total of 35 shoeboxes this year. 

 

Photo caption: Elwood-John H. Glenn High School students assembled 35 shoeboxes for “Operation Christmas Child” on Nov. 22.

 

Photos courtesy of Elwood Union Free School District 

 

Members of the Bellport High School varsity, junior varsity and Bellport Middle School baseball teams came together in front of Best Market to collect nonperishable food items for the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry, located at Mary Immaculate Church in Bellport. This is the team’s third consecutive year collecting food for the community. 

 

Photo caption: Members of the Bellport High School varsity, junior varsity and Bellport Middle School baseball teams came together in front of Best Market to collect nonperishable food.

 

Photo courtesy of the South Country Central School District

 

The Davison Avenue Intermediate School’s Special Forces team hosted its annual Thanksgiving food drive. With the overwhelming support of the school community, more than 180 pounds of food were collected for donation to The Mary Brennan INN. This donation will help feed hundreds of families who visit the soup kitchen on Thanksgiving Day. 

 

Photo caption: Members of Davison Avenue Intermediate School’s Special Forces team organized a Thanksgiving food drive that was donated to The Mary Brennan INN.

 

Photos courtesy of Malverne Union Free School District

 

In honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, Three Village Central School District prekindergarten students from across all five elementary schools recently joined together for a community service project. 

After discussing the meaning behind Veterans Day and how important it is to give thanks to all who protect the country, the students fashioned colorful and creative paper place mats decorated with traditional thanksgiving ideas. After the creations were laminated, they were delivered to the Long Island State Veterans Home in Stony Brook just before the Thanksgiving holiday. 

 

Photo caption: Several prekindergarten students from Arrowhead Elementary School are pictured with some of the placements they and their peers from across the district created for the Long Island State Veterans Home in Stony Brook. 

 

Photo courtesy of the Three Village Central School District 

 

 

With a goal of raising $9,500 for the Special Olympics, the Earl L. Vandermeulen High School’s Varsity Club has raised to date more than $11,100 as part of the Town of Brookhaven’s annual Polar Plunge recently held at Cedar Beach in Mt. Sinai.

The fundraising record goes hand in hand with the record number of 68 students who signed up to take part in the plunge, along with co-advisers Jesse Rosen and Deirdre Filippi.

 “We can’t even begin to express how proud we are of the Varsity Club members who took the chilly plunge,” Filippi said. “With our incredible donation, we were able to sponsor 27 athletes for an entire year!”

The Varsity Club members annually engage in projects centered around athletics and work to help others while challenging themselves in the process. They also run school-organized events and activities that help to raise money for various service-minded organizations.

 

Photo captions:

1:  Earl L. Vandermeulen High School’s Varsity Club before the Polar Plunge.

2: Earl L. Vandermeulen High School’s Varsity Club after the Polar Plunge.

 

Photos courtesy of Port Jefferson School District