Woodland M.S. helps feed L.I.’s hungry with Island Harvest

Woodland Middle School seventh-graders participated in the Walk for Water on Nov. 2, collecting food and water for Island Harvest.

Courtesy Randi Shubin Dresner

Woodland Middle School and East Meadow School District officials accepted the first place honor for the Students Feeding Students Challenge from Island Harvest President and CEO Randi Shubin Dresner, third from right, on March 3.

Courtesy East Meadow School District

Woodland’s sixth- and seventh-grade classes donated 3,658 pounds of foodstuffs to Island Harvest this fall, including more than 350 jugs of water.

Courtesy Randi Shubin Dresner

Shubin Dresner, a Woodland alumna, recognized sixth-grader Natalie Hernandez for donating the most food.

Courtesy East Meadow School District

• 
• 
• 
• 

The last time Randi Shubin Dresner, 55, stood on the stage at Woodland Middle School, she was a student, receiving an award from social studies teacher Gerald Schehr for her community service activities. About 40 years later, the East Meadowite and Island Harvest president and chief executive officer returned to hand out honors to a new generation of East Meadow do-gooders in recognition of their exceptional contributions to her charity organization.

“It all started here,” Schehr said, noting that altruism is rooted in the culture of the East Meadow School District. “When you feel that you can do something, you have that support from your teachers and your parents and the community. Together you can make tremendous changes.”

Woodland students did just that last fall, Shubin Dresner said, collecting enough food and water to make 1,000 meals for needy families on Long Island. Their efforts earned them the first place prize in Island Harvest’s Students Feeding Students Challenge, which Shubin Dresner presented to students and school officials on March 3.

Across Long Island, 18 middle schools and high schools participated in the Students Feeding Students program, which challenged teens to collect components for meals that Island Harvest representatives gave to hungry families in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Woodland’s sixth- and seventh-grade classes donated 3,658 pounds of food and water to Island Harvest — Long Island’s largest hunger relief organization — through two initiatives.

Last fall, seventh-graders were required to read the New York Times bestseller “A Long Walk to Water,” by Linda Sue Park. The book was based on a true story about Salva Dut, a young man who helped his peers find safety during the Civil War in South Sudan.

After reading Park’s novel, district officials said, Woodland English Department teachers were inspired to help people in need of water and food. Faculty members designed their own Walk for Water — held on Nov. 2 — so that students could try to understand Dut’s hardship and be motivated to help others.