By Rebecca Attias, Year 11
All year 11 mentor classes at LGB were asked to choose a social impact project that they were planning on accomplishing before the end of the year. The purpose of this project was to gather as a mentor group and be able to come up with ideas that leave a positive footprint in society. Ideas such as helping younger year groups with math, cleaning up the campus by picking up trash, and gift boxes for those in need were used in different mentor groups for this project. One that stood out the most, especially with the holiday season spirit of giving, was Mrs. Sheppard’s mentor class.
As a class, each individual was assigned to design one box full of different types of gifts for children in need. This list of items included something warm, something sweet, a toy, and a handwritten note. Therefore, everyone’s box was unique since every one of the mentees was able to pick out an item of their choice for each category. After assembling their gift boxes, they were wrapped and ready to be sent off.
After discussing with a few students from Mrs. Sheppard’s mentor class, the universal reply to the questions, “How did you feel after doing this? Did you feel that you made an impact?” was that it was simply heartwarming. Having this gift of joy could help put a smile on a child’s face when holiday seasons can be tough for those who are in need. Each student, from the mentor class, that I spoke to mentioned that it was a project that was so simple, yet so rewarding. Yasma Janoudi, year 11, stated the following: “This project made me feel a connection between myself and those in need and encouraged me to want to donate and help as much as I could. It made me realize that even the slightest effort of a small box can put a smile on others’ faces and help on a larger scale.”
With all of this positive feedback, students were asked if there was anything they would have done differently in this project. “Honestly, I would have wanted to give these gifts to the children in person to talk to them for a while and see how they are doing,” said Charlie Thul, year 11. Some comments even included students that wanted to give even more gifts! “We would have given the children more candy and toys to play with, or even two gift boxes!” said Anastasia Tomlinson and Hana Linck, year 11.
Overall, Mrs. Sheppard’s social impact project was one that was heartwarming and moving. As LGB demonstrated before the winter break with the Cultural Awareness Week, by selecting one day of the week discussing different holiday festivities, they all shared a common theme: bringing light and, indeed, this mentor class helped bring light into these children’s lives this winter season.
