Ninth grade students at Neenah High School performed numerous acts of community service this fall as part of the Freshman Seminar program, benefitting individuals and organizations throughout the local area.
The class is in its fifth year and was designed as a way to help acclimate incoming students to Neenah High School. Each class is led by a Neenah High School teacher and several upperclass students. One aspect of the class is to create and execute a community service project.
Each of the 23 classes had a different service project and displayed them at a “Community Service Fair” at Neenah High School on Nov. 25. The fair was held in the Armstrong wing of the school and provided each group a way to present the details of their project to other students and staff. Members of local charitable community groups also attended the fair to show students additional volunteer opportunities that are available.
Many classes donated their time by raking leaves for neighbors or in local parks. Two groups spent time with special needs students at the high school and two groups worked with elementary students, building relationships and tutoring after school. A class did random acts of kindness for other students in the high school and another is in the process of writing personal notes to every member of the class of 2019. One group provided thank you gifts and messages to neighbors of the high school, while another assisted with set up and clean up for the Helping Hands Craft Fair.
Two groups helped benefit Children’s Hospitals as one provided tie-blankets for the patients and another participated in the crayon initiative by collecting used crayons that are made into new crayons. Other groups raised money to benefit local charities, including a tie-blanket fundraiser for the Fox Valley Humane Society that raised $400, a Relay for Life that brought in $243 and a food fair that raised $237 for breast cancer research. Another group donated socks to the Fox Valley Emergency Shelter and one group coordinated a used book sale that raised $630 for the Neenah High School Orbit, which benefits families of students in need.
Some of the classes are continuing activities through the end of the Freshman Seminar program at the close of the first semester on Jan. 15.
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