Moorestown Friends School will host a food drive for those living in community- supported housing on Nov. 20.
“It’s for all students, all families and also alumni are welcome to come back,” said Melissa McCourt, chair of the Quaker and religious studies department of the school. “We have games … We have a little photo booth where students can come take a picture with the fox (school mascot), and then we have a card-making section, so people can write a card that can go into the bag that will be shared with a family.”
There will also be a tree where people can write what they are grateful for on the leaves.
McCourt explained how this drive is different from years past.
“ … To get more student involvement, to get more family involvement, instead of having it happen during the school day, we wanted to dedicate a day over the weekend so that students and families could come and they could even help sort the bags,” she said. “ … To make it a little bit more centered around community involvement, we then started the community food drive and fun event.”
McCourt looks forward to seeing students work together at events like the food drive.
“It’s always interesting, because they’re getting into a group with people they might not know, and so there’s always a little bit of the initial getting adjusted, getting used to,” she noted. “ … An older student and a younger student get together on a craft and they’re helping one another, and it all gets done.”
“I think it’s fun to actually see how in that short period of time, they go from feeling a little bit out of their comfort zone, and then shifting into that comfort and the care for one another is really cool to see.”
McCourt wants those interactions to be what students take away from helping others at Moorestown Friends.
“I think that one, is that they take away really strong bonds and relationships, not just with their peers, but also with adults,” she explained, “so that they have a sense of knowing (that) this is always a space for them, this is always a home for them, so that they feel rooted in that sense of space.”
“ … That they have a sense of who they are that’s rooted in value and purpose … they know that they can bring what they’ve learned out into the world and they can create communities themselves that are rooted in our Quaker values of equality and stewardship and community.”
For more information on the community food drive, visit https://www.mfriends.org.
