By Claire Newfeld
High school students at Tempe Prep must complete a minimum of ten community service hours per year in order to graduate. National Honor Society members must complete a minimum of 15 hours per semester. TPA students participate in several interesting, fun, and valuable service projects in order to fulfill these requirements.
One of the most popular service activities is Feed My Starving Children. FMSC is a “non-profit Christian organization committed to feeding God’s children hungry in body and spirit.” Tempe Prep students have the opportunity to visit the premises about once a month and package meals specifically designed for malnourished children, which are then sent to almost 70 countries around the world.
NHS members hold several annual fundraisers for this organization, such as Feathers For Food at Thanksgiving and the Krispy Kreme Donut Fundraiser at Valentine’s Day.
Sarah Faulkner, junior, said of her experience, “FMSC was not what I had expected. I had thought that it would be more of an assembly line and squeaky clean and fast. It was fast and clean, but more of a giant garage-like area. There were stations with six or seven people, pouring food into bags, weighing the bags to make sure that it was between 380 and 400 grams, and putting the bags into boxes. It was loud and competitive. The air was giddy and the chatter incessant. It was a lot of fun, though, and I’m definitely doing it again.”
Feed My Starving Children is located at 7965 S. Priest Dr. #106, Tempe AZ 85284. The next Tempe Prep-scheduled event is on May 16 from 8-9:30 p.m., but students can schedule individual volunteer visits.
Another popular organization is the Child Crisis Center, which serves to prevent child abuse and neglect. They pursue this by “supporting and strengthening families through education and intervention by providing a safe environment for children to heal, and by recruiting, training and supporting foster and adoptive families.” Volunteers must make a one-year commitment and work a two-hour shift each week.
Several TPA students who volunteer get to work directly with the children. This activity is not for the faint of heart. As Kate Coriell, senior, said at the NHS Induction Ceremony, “Have you ever played tag with a 5-year-old? They cheat!” But of course, knowing that you are making such a positive impact on these kids’ lives just by playing with them makes it all worth it.
NHS members will also have the opportunity to participate in events on March 19 and 26 from 6-7 p.m. to conduct science experiments and play basketball with children at the Center. For more information and to sign up, go to your Dashboard on x2Vol.
Josh (junior) and Marisa (sophomore) Putrasahan participate in a unique service activity at Esperanza Para Los Ninos, an orphanage in Puerto Penasco, or Rocky Point. “We go down as a family with some other dentists to do dental work on the kids and adults there. Normally, they wouldn’t get proper or safe dental work done, or maybe even none at all,” says Josh. “We’ve also raised clothing and food donations for them occasionally. Four years ago we actually had a clothing drive at TPA for Esperanza.”
Clearly, many Tempe Prep students choose to contribute well over the minimum 10 hours required to graduate. Even those who only do about 10 hours participate in activities that make such a strong impact on our community and the world. TPA students show how dedicated they are to service, and just how much of a difference a single high school student can make.