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Girard College Wins $10,000 in Philly Service Award Competition

Girard College students competed for the first time in the Philly Service Award program, and the Garnet Goes Green initiative earned one of the top prizes at the May 1 awards ceremony. The school received a second-place prize of $10,000 in the Safer, Cleaner, Greener award category for Garnet Goes Green, a service project the high school executive team of Student Council spearheaded this school year.

“They were excited and reacted the same way adults would act if we hit the million-dollar lottery,” said STEM Director Marquita Lewis.

The goal of the project was to provide consistent access to fresh, healthy food while also creating a sustainable system that empowers families to grow their own food and supports long-term community well-being.

Garden Goes Green Promotes Benefits of Healthy Eating

The high school student council members who launched the Garnet Goes Green Initiative stand in front of the garden on campus which will provide fresh produce for the community. Joining them from L-R in back row are Waleska Martinez, administrative assistant for the Office of Student Experience, Ryan Robbins, high school vice principal, Tumar Alexander, vice president of operations, Reggie Johnson, high school principal, David Hardy, president of Girard College, STEM director Marquita Lewis, and Jenaye Moore, chief of staff to the president.

During the school year Girard students packed green backpacks with healthy breakfast and lunch items for EMS and high school students to take home every weekend.

Lewis explained that the backpack project has been a collaborative effort with the Omega Omega chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority as part of the organization’s Childhood Hunger Initiative Power Pack (CHIPP) program.

The goal of the CHIPP program is to combat local food insecurity, and chapter members are actively involved with the packing and distribution of weekend/holiday meal bags for children.

Lewis said about 45 Girard students in grades 1-12 have been taking the green backpacks home every Friday.

To help parents learn how to grow their own food, high school student council members facilitated a workshop during a Parent Café where parents were given pots, soil and seeds so they could start growing lettuce, tomatoes, beets, okra or sunflowers.

Lewis explained that people only need a large bucket from Lowe’s or Home Depot to begin growing their own food.

This spring the students planted seeds in the outdoor garden on campus and set up the hydroponic gardening equipment in the greenhouse. They also made smoothies for fans at a Girard basketball game.

Student Leadership Leads to Winning Prize Money

A key aspect of the success of the Garnet Goes Green initiative was ensuring that everyone on student council could get involved with it, Lewis said.

“The original core group got it together, and they opened it up to other members of student government,” she added.

Seniors Serenity Glenn and Shuaib Conteh, juniors Hamza Logan, Gabe Grant and Skye Brandon, and sophomores Khyira Briscoe and A’laiyah Madison, student council leaders, launched the initiative last fall.

Freshmen Laila Lee and Jordyn McMillian stepped up to help when the upperclassmen were busy with other school activities.

“They were instrumental in facilitating the Parent Café workshop,” Lewis said.

The enthusiasm and dedication of the student leaders played a key role in earning a top prize in this year’s Philly Service Award competition.

“Anything you do that involves students, the leader has to have the passion and the excitement and the drive to push the rest of the team,” Lewis said. “The students won because of their passion.”