Students of Monsignor Scanlan High School have been rewarded for their outstanding charitable efforts.
Selected as one of over 1,000 schools in the Tri-State Area to participate in Cablevision’s Power to Learn Charity Champions Program during the 2010-2011 school year, Monsignor Scanlan High School was announced as the grand prize winner in New York City for their dedication to helping homeless and poor people.
During the school year, volunteer students spent most of their time helping St. Crispin’s Food Pantry on 420 E. 156th Street by collecting hundreds of canned foods to donate. The students also made their mission well known throughout the school.
To reward the students for their work, Cablevision vice president of Education Trent Anderson visited Monsignor Scanlan High School on Monday, June 20, along with Congressman Joe Crowley and Brothers Crispin and Luis of the St. Crispin’s Food Pantry, to present the school with a $5,000 check for St. Crispin’s Food Pantry, as well as an additional $1,000 check to continue charitable efforts at the school.
“There is nothing better for a community than dedicating one’s time and efforts for the betterment of their neighbors and those in need,” Congressman Crowley said. “It is heartening to see these students embrace service to others so enthusiastically. It is their hard work and spirit of community that makes them so deserving of this hard-earned honor.”
The Power to Learn Charity Champions Program is in its second year of operation and according to Trent Anderson, the program was so successful its first time around that they felt it was necessary to continue it again for at least another school year. This was the first year for Scanlan.
The students not only collected countless cans of food, but also had a strong impact on the other students. During a school day in April, students who participated in the program sacrificed three hours of their day by giving up all of their personal belongings and sleeping on cardboard boxes around the school to represent to other students a day in the life of a homeless person.
According to principal Emily Padilla-Bradley, the students efforts had a major influence on the other students, as well as themselves. After the sleepout, students began to express how truly grateful they are for everything they have in their lives, and vowed to continue to help others.
“We are extremely proud of each of our students involved in the Charity Champions program,” Padilla-Bradley said. “It has been rewarding to help those in need in the south Bronx.”
Student Nicholas Pappas was heavily influenced by the whole experience. He believes it was certainly a wake-up call to really help people in need.
“We went beyond just helping those in need. We gained a sense of what it’s really like,” Pappas said. “I noticed for homeless people that the streets are their home. For us, we were able to go back home.”
Scanlan will continue their charitable works for St. Crispin’s Pantry during the 2011-2012 school year.
