Values shared, a difference made

On the day before Thanksgiving break began, one of the most exciting and fulfilling events occurred at Lawrence Woodmere Academy — the Harvest Festival, which is held to commemorate Thanksgiving and serves to give back to the community.
Although an annual event, Daniel McMenamin, director of Service Learning, was determined to make this year’s different. While the old traditions are great to renew each year, this year, new traditions were created. In the past, each student donated a canned item for those who need assistance in collecting Thanksgiving meal items. Also, every class in the upper school brought in different foods to share at a luncheon feast, where the freshman served the food.
A little revamping helped make the Harvest Festival more successful than ever before. About a week prior to the festival, students hung posters throughout the halls that stated a fact about hunger. One that stood out to me read, “925 million people go malnourished on a daily basis, meaning they consume less than the recommended 2,100 calories per day.”
Each upper school student was also asked to bring in a $5 donation to donate to the hunger-fighting charity of their grade’s choice. In addition, each middle and lower school student supplied canned goods and paper products for another local charity. The service part of the festival was a huge hit, and the feast was the cherry on top of a perfect day.
During lunch, the cafeteria was transformed into a concert arena. Headmaster Alan Bernstein played the saxophone, while a variety of students sang classic songs, strummed on guitars and banged on the drums. Teachers and students rose from their seats to dance the salsa and cha cha, and a delicious meal was enjoyed by all. Traditional Thanksgiving foods such as cornbread, turkey and stuffing were gobbled down before the upper school recessed to the gym for the annual volleyball tournament.
The afternoon concluded with advisories competing against one another in volleyball. Even teachers participated in the games, which was extremely exciting to watch. It became pretty competitive, but everyone showed great sportsmanship. Not a soul was bored, as spectators cheered for their classmates and helped referee the games. Most importantly, all the money collected was donated to the winning advisory’s charity.
The LWA Harvest Festival activities — dancing, singing, indulging in yummy food and playing volleyball — brought everyone closer and reminded us of what a close knit community we are a part; still, the festival was more than just fun and games. LWA’s students made a difference in people’s lives through their monetary and non-perishable food donations.