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Comp earns national recognition

Date: 10/12/2011

Oct. 12, 2011

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

CHICOPEE — The on-going series of food drives to assist the mission of Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen have brought Chicopee Comprehensive High School a National School of Distinction status from the Schools Fight Hunger program.

According to the organization, “The National School of Distinction status is awarded to schools that demonstrate notable enthusiasm, creativity or dedication in getting involved with the hunger cause. Whether its activating students around a school-wide food drive, organizing volunteers for a local pantry or food bank or cultivating a school garden to provide fresh produce for the cause, schools all across the country have been playing a larger and larger role in helping to fight hunger nationwide.”

Less than 2,000 schools nationwide earned this level of distinction in the 2010-2011 school year.

“The students, staff and families of our School of Distinction schools should be very proud of their efforts and the impact they’re making on the hunger cause,” Schools Fight Hunger founder Tim Sullivan said. “Of course, the short-term results are impressive, but we also love to see how our next generation of leaders are getting active in their communities at such a young age. In a day when so much news about our kids and our schools seems so negative, these schools and these students are well worth celebrating.”

Chicopee Comprehensive Vice Principal Chuck Jendrysik explained to Reminder Publications the school runs at least two food drives a year for Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen – one in the spring and one in November.

The last November drive yielded 5,000 cans of food, he noted, while the spring drive gathered 10,000 pounds of non-perishable items. The annual goal is to reach 15,000 pounds of food.

“We try to tailor it to their needs,” he added.

Jendrysik said that classes compete against each other during the food drive to see which grade can bring in the most donations.

Students also go out to area businesses to solicit donations of food items and money, he added.

Besides the two large drives, Jendrysik said the students conduct smaller efforts throughout the year to address critical needs. He said students asked for donations during last week’s open house and received $100 in cash and several hundred cans of food.



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