One Sandwich at a Time: A Mini-Grant Story
Ms. Hopkins is the principal at St. Margaret’s School in New York state. "Teaching about service to others is a key part of the school’s mission statement,” said Hopkins. “We must teach our children how to care for others to make the world a better place.”
Principal Hopkins supported Ms. Rosier’s classroom as they carried out a service-learning project called One Sandwich at a Time.
Ms. Rosier taught the “What Is Hunger?” and “The Project on Poverty and Homelessness” Learning to Give lessons, and guided the students to come up with an activity that would help others. The students were responsible for organizing the times and dates to do their service-learning project and they alternated leadership roles. The students decided to make 200 sandwiches each month for a local homeless shelter.
Through this project the students not only gained a new understanding about hunger and food security, they also achieved social and emotional goals of learning how to care for others in need.
Princiapl Hopkins and Ms. Rosier received a $250 mini-grant from Learning to Give to support Ms. Rosier’s class project. The funds were used for transportation costs, art supplies to make cards, books, and snacks.
One student mentioned, “I like making sandwiches for the men who need lunch. It is a great way to start the day.” Another student was really impacted by the service and said, “I think it is good that we are doing this for people in need. I hope to someday become a doctor to help others, too.”
Through this service project students learned about hunger issues in the community and the importance of providing service to those in need.