Grove School Gives Back During the Holiday Season

MADISON, Conn., Jan. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Students at the Grove School, a co-educational, therapeutic, boarding and day school for adolescents in grades 7-12, have been busy with service projects during the holiday season to help local and global communities.  

The Student Council, comprised of 15 students in grades 7-12, sponsored six families as a part of the Angel Appeal, a parenting support program, at Yale New Haven Hospital.   Grove has supported this for the past six years.  Student Council members organized sales of "Gratitude-grams" and "Candy-grams" on campus to raise over $400.00.  Students, staff and parents made a donation and then could send a message of Gratitude along with a small bag of candy, to a member of the Grove community.  The group used the money to purchase gifts and supplies from wish-lists provided by the families.  

Allee Parker, a junior from Brookline, MA, participated in the Angel Appeal for the second time this year.  "Helping two groups of people with one project was really rewarding.  We did something nice for the Grove community as well as the local community," Parker said.

The Smiles Club organized two fundraisers to raise money to donate to the worldwide children's charity Operation Smile.   The Smiles Club was founded by a Grove School senior, Jacob Goldenberg from Weston, CT,  and staff member, Kristy Hynes.  Goldenberg learned about Operation Smile, a charity that provides free surgeries to repair cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities for children, while participating in a summer leadership program.  When he returned to school, Goldenberg decided to form a club so the Grove community could support the charity's efforts.   The club has nine members and meets weekly after school.

In early December, the Smiles Club sponsored a campus Hat Day where staff and students could make a donation of $1 or more to wear a hat in classes for the day.  Baseball caps, tiaras, Santa hats, and knit caps were the order of the day for the campus and the group raised nearly $100.  Later that weekend, eight students and staff held a bake sale in downtown Madison which raised nearly $250 more.  

Goldenberg commented, "It is an amazing and uplifting feeling to know that our efforts are helping to fund such positive work that changes the lives of children stricken with these terrible deformities.  Something as simple as a bake sale can change their lives forever."  He went on to say, "Recently, I saw an informational program on the work of Operation Smile on TV.  It was inspiring to know that we have been a small part of making something good happen all across the world."

Peter Chorney, Executive Director and co-advisor to the Student Council, stated, "We really have an incredible group of students who feel passionately about helping those in need.  I am so proud of all of the recent philanthropic work because I think it speaks volumes about our students' selflessness and positive character.  At the same time, people in the world, both nearby and far, are directly benefitting from the efforts of our students.   We will continue to promote these kinds of activities as often as is possible because it positively impacts both the helpers and those that receive help."

To learn more about Grove School, visit www.groveschool.org.

Media Contact:  Danielle Cyr | 860.676.4400 | [email protected]

SOURCE Grove School