Baskets of Sharing 2011

As president of both the National Honor Society and H.O.P.E. (Humanitarian Organization for Peer Education) at my high school, I strove to emphasize the importance of teamwork in an endeavor such as "Baskets of Sharing." Our goal was to feed as many people as possible for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Collaboration was key on this project. Students from both organizations worked diligently to acquire as many food items and school supplies as possible to donate to the less fortunate. One of the biggest contributions (10 turkeys) was from the local fire department in gratitude for our hard work ethic during their annual "Firefest" community event. Both organizations also worked together after-school for three days straight organizing the food baskets. The project accumulated about 900 canned foods, 11 turkeys, and a plethora of school supplies. We personally designed 10 large food/school supply baskets 10 large families whose children attend Longoria Elementary in Pharr, TX. We donated the remaining canned foods to the Pharr Good Samaritan after-school and summer program, which donated the food to numerous families whose children attend the program. 4 of the families from Longoria could not make the trip to pick up their baskets at the school, so we personally delivered them to the respective houses. In addition to feeding many families for Thanksgiving, the project also served as an eye-opening experience for National Honor Society and H.O.P.E. members. In personally giving the food baskets to the families, members from both organizations were able to actually meet the people they were helping and witness their adverse living conditions.