Clear, 73°
Wind: mph,
This year’s group of Severna Park High School (SPHS) Leadership Institute III students capped a three-year commitment by partnering with charitable organizations for service projects. The Leadership Institute is a program designed to instill the characteristics needed to excel in the classroom, the community, and in life. Led by teachers Mary Heath, Elizabeth Colon and Heather Barnstead, students learned about needs in their communities while becoming more effective leaders with the following projects.
Jack Watkins, Joey Viskocil, Evan Boucher
Watkins, Viskocil and Boucher led a service project advocating for equality in youth sports in the Baltimore area. Aided by classmates, they volunteered at the local Leveling the Playing Field warehouse, hoping to collect a minimum of $450 worth of sports equipment to donate to the organization. They ultimately raised $3,226 in equipment, as well as an additional $150 in monetary donations, far exceeding their goal.
Kelsey Griffith, Emily Hall, Maggie Deegan
Griffith, Hall and Deegan recruited fellow students and partnered with the ShareBaby organization to raise awareness and provide critical support in the fight against diaper insecurity, an overlooked issue affecting families with young children. Last fall they shared a payment link, posted on social media, volunteered, and collected donations. In total, they collected $556 in donations, $400 of materials, and volunteered for more than 13 hours.
Abby Roberts, Parren Smith
Roberts and Smith partnered with GiGi’s Playhouse Annapolis to spread awareness and provide more opportunities for individuals with Down syndrome. They fundraised, collected supplies, and volunteered at key events. To achieve their goals, Roberts and Smith raised $250 through a donation link they sent out to family and friends. They also collected supply donations and planned a day for their classmates to create kind messages for the members of GiGi’s Playhouse Annapolis.
Reid Bergstrom, Henry Marriner, Feng Xue
Along with a team of 10th-grade students, Bergstrom, Marriner and Xue partnered with the SPCA of Anne Arundel County to improve animal welfare. Throughout a collective 18 hours of volunteerism, the team assisted in cleaning up the Lights on the Bay event, which benefits the SPCA of Anne Arundel County. Through outreach to the community, the Pet Pals also raised $994 in supplies and monetary donations to support the SPCA.
Lilly Nagy, Maura Cronin, Alaina Johnson
Nagy, Cronin and Johnson partnered with the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) in Baltimore to aid families with hospitalized children. The girls wanted to reduce added stressors such as transportation, meal and hotel costs. In September they gathered their peers to make 55 snack bags. Additionally, they made goodie bags and encouraging notes. They also organized $400 worth of can tabs, which the foundation collects to raise money, and asked peers for monetary donations that were sent directly to RMHC.
Giuliana Fitzsimmons, Lyla Winship
SPHS students, led by Fitzsimmons and Winship, partnered with the SPCA of Anne Arundel County to promote animal welfare within the community. They hosted events to make DIY dog toys and solicited monetary and supply donations at SPHS. With the support of three sophomore Leadership Institute students, they spent 20 hours making dog toys, creating posters to promote the project, and spreading the mission of the SPCA.
Lila Sandel, Ty Maddox
SPHS students, led by Sandel, Maddox and another senior, partnered with the Binky Patrol organization to make and donate blankets to kids in hospitals, foster care, homeless shelters, and more. Sixty students volunteered to hand-make 15 blankets. In addition, the students raised over $350 to donate directly to the organization.
Blair McDaniel, Josie Wong
McDaniel and Wong volunteered at the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk put on by the American Cancer Society to spread awareness and support cancer survivors and their families. In addition to the walk, both girls raised funds for a local branch through family and friends. They also planned a love-note making activity through their local school club, donating over 200 motes to the sister group of the American Cancer Society, Love Notes Around the World.
Ally Kuhn, Samantha Lavallee
Kuhn and Lavallee went to Johns Hopkins Children’s Center to deliver 20 care boxes with toys and gifts to the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit. The trip was part of their project aimed at spreading holiday cheer and hope to the families in the unit. In addition to the boxes, Kuhn and Lavallee also hosted a “Heart Walk” in November and raised over $200 for the American Heart Association.
Emmy Wright
Wright partnered with The Y in Central Maryland to spread awareness and support people struggling with food insecurity. There were three goals for the project: raise $150, donate $30 worth of food, and volunteer for eight hours. To achieve these goals, Wright volunteered at the Y Fresh Mart at the Pasadena YMCA and contacted friends and family to donate money and food. Wright completed all three goals.
Bella Mazzola, Gracie Ciuba
Mazzola and Ciuba led a group of fellow students to volunteer at the Baltimore Running Festival on behalf of Athletes Serving Athletes, which exists to improve quality of life for individuals with limited mobility by empowering them to train and join mainstream running events. The students set up a water stop and cheered on participants. The girls also raised $350 for the nonprofit and created 25 race posters prior to the event to encourage runners as they pushed toward the finish line.
Hannah Hlaing, Taylor Moran
Hlaing and Moran partnered with Success in Style to spread awareness and support for local unemployment. Together they collected $450 worth of clothing to donate to the nonprofit. They also led a group of peers who donated their own clothing and volunteered alongside senior leaders to assist them in preparing inventory to be released for purchase in the Success in Style stores.
Violet Thompson, Julia Dove, Mackenzie Goldman
Thompson, Dove and Goldman worked together to raise money and awareness for Ronald McDonald House Charities. They volunteered on multiple occasions at the Ronald McDonald House in Baltimore. The students planned and brought games and crafts to do with hospitalized children during their nightly activity hour, including helping with a bingo event. They raised $355, volunteered 30 hours, and created cards for kids and families.
Alaina Washington, Audrey Chen
Washington and Chen teamed up to advocate for animal welfare with the SPCA of Anne Arundel County. As part of their service project, the students led a team to collect funds and pet supplies and make DIY pet toys to donate. Washington and Chen were inspired by their love for their own pets at home and a shared belief that every animal deserves to find a forever home. The students raised over $180 in monetary donations, made over 40 dog and cat toys, and donated pet food and supplies.
Brooke Klima, Brooke Vaught
Klima and Vaught partnered with the Kits to Heart foundation to support cancer patients across the nation. They led their Leadership III class of roughly 30 students in a rock painting session to contribute thoughtful items toward the organization’s collection drive. The girls raised a total of $270 in monetary donations and $100 in collection donations.
Andrew Kelly, Cole Cavanaugh, Teddy Uy
Kelly, Cavanaugh and Uy assembled a team of three workers to volunteer at Sandy Point State Park for Lights on the Bay. The boys helped set up Christmas lights and decorations. Along with volunteering, they made over 30 dog toys out of old T-shirts and donated them to the SPCA in Annapolis. As a group, they also raised $285 in donations for pet food and supplies.
Stella Kiddney
Kiddney hosted a restaurant night at McGarvey’s Oyster Bar in Annapolis, raising $200 to support the Severn River Association, an Annapolis-based nonprofit. In addition to the fundraiser, Kiddney led an oyster education lesson for a class of 30 freshmen.
Hayden Fox, Declan Laughlin
Fox and Laughlin spearheaded a service project by a group of students and community members on the power of athletics. Sports for Change was developed to utilize sports to promote equity, teamwork and positive community impact. The group organized donation drives and raised awareness about Leveling the Playing Field, showcasing how sports can unite and inspire people to effect meaningful change.
Aileen Jeter, Sophia Vu, Lilly Waterman
Jeter, Vu and Waterman led a group of students and community members as they volunteered with Kits to Heart to create care packages for cancer patients and survivors. To accomplish this goal, the trio planned and executed the creation of over 24 art journals, 32 letters and 18 towels to include as part of the nonprofit’s care packages. With the help of Leadership I student Hannah Satterfield, they participated in over 10 hours of service and raised over $150 in donations.
Norah Cornwall, Sadie Mack
To provide comfort to children, Cornwall and Mack donated 21 hand-tied blankets to the nonprofit Binky Patrol. They traveled to Upperco, Maryland, with fellow Leadership III students Tariku Maddox, Anna Willis and Lila Sandel to drop off the blankets. They also raised funds for the nonprofit. Binky Patrol provides blankets to children facing difficult or traumatic situations such as illness, homelessness, foster care placement, or crisis situations.
Angela Reed, Giuliana Newton
Through the impacts of kindness in their own lives, Reed and Newton decided to launch an initiative to spread kindness through social media. The students created awareness videos on kind acts, interviews, skits, and information about the organization Kindness Grows Here, then shared them on Instagram. By including students in their classes and clubs, and school administrators, Reed and Newton were able to reach SPHS schoolwide with their project. In addition to the videos, the students wrote advocacy letters and raised funds for Kindness Grows Here.
Emerson Scott, Ava Scott, Koby Bragg
Scott, Scott and Bragg lead a group of students and community members in combatting food insecurity. Their group, Packs 4 Pals, partnered with Weekend Backpacks Baltimore. The students raised $335 in donations, collected $100 worth of canned goods, and created 30 posters, exceeding their goals.
Gabi Villegas, Vivian Major
Villegas and Major partnered with the nonprofit Luv Michael, which works to create meaningful job opportunities and inclusive living communities for adults on the autism spectrum. They organized their project United by Luv, led a group of underclassmen through the program, and raised $2,500.
Sophia Listman, Kaelin Cservek
Listman and Cservek led a project in support of the American Cancer Society. By holding meetings at school, they were able to reach their project goals on blanket and card making with the help of classmates and volunteers. In total, they created 50 inspirational cards and goodie bags and seven fleece tie blankets that were donated to the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge in Baltimore. They also raised $300 for the American Cancer Society.
Ella Atwood, Molly Martin
Led by Atwood and Martin, a group of SPHS students partnered with Orphan Grain Train to spread awareness for those in need around the world. To accomplish their goal, the pair planned and executed placing donation boxes around the school and volunteered with their junior leadership members.
Kate Edwards, Isabella Elliott
Partnering with Athletes Serving Athletes, Edwards and Elliott assembled a team of volunteers and passed out water to runners at the Baltimore Marathon last fall. In addition to volunteering on race day, the girls helped support limited-mobility athletes through fundraising for Athletes Serving Athletes and leading a class to create race day posters.
Mackenzy Luoto, Elizabeth Thompson
Luoto and Thompson lead a group of students to serve breakfast at the Ronald McDonald House in Baltimore to help children hospitalized with critical illnesses. The girls also fundraised for RMHC, directly benefiting the house in Baltimore. Both students want to pursue careers in the medical field and felt a connection with helping families who spend a lot of time in and out of hospitals.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here