Holmdel Village School 2nd Graders Donate Food to Red Bank Soup Kitchen

On Friday March 22, 2013 the second graders of Village School in Holmdel participated in their annual Second Grade Breakfast. The Second Grade Breakfast has been a long standing tradition at Village School for approximately twenty years.  When talking with faculty and staff about the breakfast, everyone agreed that it had been ongoing for as long as they could remember.

 Mrs. Kyriaki Rausch, a second grade teacher, is organizing this year’s breakfast with the combined effort of her second grade colleagues.  When asked about the purpose of the breakfast Mrs. Rausch stated that “Service learning helps students become better learners, classmates, and citizens.” Service learning is a teaching method that combines academic instruction, meaningful service to enhance student learning, and civic responsibility. Service learning differs from community service or volunteerism in that it is integrated with academic curriculum and content.

 Each second grade class was asked to donate a specific food item to Lunch Break in Red Bank. Lunch Break is a community outreach program that has been serving Monmouth County for 30 years.  Their mission is to help those in the community that are unable to provide the bare necessities to their families.  Since 2008 Gwendolyn Love has been the Executive Director. She works with over 1500 volunteers, serving the community by providing food, clothing, and a multitude of special services six days a week.

 When asked about her feelings on the Second Grade Breakfast, Love said “It’s a very warm feeling to see the collaboration of the parents, the teachers, the administration, and of course the kids.  It’s very much appreciated.”

 According to Love the Lunch Break’s food pantry serves 500 families per month. In addition, their soup kitchen serves close to 5000 meals per month. Most of the food donated by the second graders will go to the food pantry for distribution while some of it will be used to prepare meals in the soup kitchen.  

 Prior to eating their breakfast, the second graders were read facts about hunger and poverty by their fellow classmates.  The children learned how hunger affects families in their local communities. They were also informed of how much food they donated and how many people would be fed by these donations. 

 Over the years the Second Grade Breakfast has become a collaborative effort. Dearborn Market of Holmdel donated all of the fresh fruit for the children, while the families of the second graders donated the rest of the breakfast items.  Village School PSA donated wrist bands to all the children inscribed with the message “Stop Poverty”.

 When Mrs. Rausch was asked what the most difficult aspect of organizing such an event was her answer was simply, “This event is effortless due to the fact that teachers, administers, and the families of the Holmdel students are always willing to help others in need.”