Mazel tov to our Senior Kindergarten students for collecting more than 600 items for the school food drive supporting The Ark.

As part of the project, students created flyers to inform the school community about the food drive and tracked the growing number of donations each day. Students also used money they had collected for tzedakah to purchase specific items requested by The Ark.

This year marked our third visit to The Ark. It was particularly meaningful as the students were able to visit The Ark’s newly remodeled building. Because the food pantry was closed to the public during our visit, students had the opportunity to place items directly onto the shelves and see where their donations would go.

We checked for kosher symbols, sorted food, stocked shelves, and delivered celebration bags they had assembled and decorated during Day of Service. The hands-on experience helped students better understand how their efforts support members of the community.

The learning continued beyond the field trip. Shortly after the visit, the donations were added to the pantry shelves during a family volunteer event at The Ark, reinforcing the impact of the students’ work.

Students are already thinking ahead about future ways to help. As Purim approaches, they have begun planning to collect boxes of macaroni and cheese and pasta to bring during the Megillah reading.

Students reflected on their experience:

“My favorite part at The Ark was sorting the food and helping.” – Kaya

“I helped people when I brought mustard to school. I can help people who don't have anything.” – Julian

“My favorite part at The Ark was separating the food and going in the freezer. I like helping people because I like seeing them smile.” – Sivan