2007-08 Community Service Report
	Monica and Jackie Yordan in Colombia Spring 2008 Projects: Students and faculty donated more than 500 books for a rural school in Zimbabwe. An initial shipment of 200 books has been sent; this project continues to be an on-going effort.   Ashley Martinez ’08 participated in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s (AFSP) annual “Out of the Darkness Overnight” on Saturday, June 9 through Sunday, June 10, 2007. Ashley, along with her mother and thousands of other participants, walked 20-miles in the fight against suicide. For this project, Ashley raised approximately $2,000. After participating in this venture, Ashley said, “It’s probably one of the most inspirational, yet one of the most emotional things I’ve ever done because so many people from all over the country came together for such an important cause.”   In late August, Hill boatbuilding instructor Luke Block took four students—James Green ’08, Jake Gregory ’08, Nick VanVliet ’08, and Laura Wright ’09—to Mantoloking Yacht Club, New Jersey where they sailed in the 2007 World Duck Boat Regatta (WDBR) competition and raised money for Operation Smile. The total amount of money that the students raised for charity was $15,000.   Students from The Hill School participated in The Memory Project, an outreach program that gives children who have been abandoned, orphaned, abused, or neglected a chance to have a tangible object from their childhood. Ellen Nelson, Hill instructor of the arts, directed the art students who were involved in this project. Fourteen Hill students were involved in painting portraits for The Memory Project. In addition to painting, the students wrote words of inspiration on the back of each portrait. In The Memory Project, advanced high school art students create original portraits for unprivileged children. Once finished, the portraits are delivered to the children, and the children are invited to create drawings or write letters to send back to the art students. The Memory Project was developed by Ben Schumaker of Madison, Wisconsin. Schumaker developed this project after working for an orphanage in Guatemala. A young man stopped by and explained that he did not have any personal belongings from his youth. The young man left Schumaker with inspiring advice to “try to help the kids collect special items that will contribute to their sense of identity and personal self-worth.”   On Friday, October 12, Hill English instructor James Watson and the entire sixth form class volunteered time and effort to help prepare for Pottstown's Schuylkill River Festival, which was held on October 13. Their service was a component of the senior class project, which throughout the term will involve contributing to the Pottstown community. The students aided in the River Front Park beautification process by cleaning up trash and creating displays. The class project tied in with The Hill’s year-long “Sustainability” efforts.   Dr. Ann Marshall, Sarah Miller '08 along with her mother Carol Miller, Melody Chang '09, and Eve Cremers '08 participated in the 12K AIDS Walk in Philadelphia, PA in October. Hill's Action AIDS raised $1,515 in only four days. Action AIDS President Sarah Miller said, “It’s great to see that people at Hill really care about this issue even though they were not able to walk.”   Ellen Nelson introduced her advanced art students to the idea of using art for more than just personal expression. Through the Cradle Project, she was able to show her students how art can be used to positively impact lives outside of their own communities. A drawer found at a recycling center was used as the base of the cradle. This was a reflection of the resourcefulness of families Ellen had learned about, where open bottom drawers would often be made into impromptu cribs when there were no empty beds. It is the hope of Ellen and her students that this cradle will inspire the child whose crib it becomes and increase awareness to the struggle 48 million sub-Saharan orphans face everyday. Along with Ellen, the students involved were: Jim Taylor, Sierra Bintliff ‘08, Samantha Clouten ‘09, Eve Cremers ‘08, Kate Esbenshade ‘09, Hope Kauffman ‘09, Adelaide Knott ‘08, Elizabeth Kunkle ‘08, Mary Longenecker ‘08, Samantha Lurio ‘09, Caitlin Manak ‘08, Hope Robb ‘09, Brittany Schrack ‘08, and Abby Skolits ‘08.   The Hill’s Cooking Club held its first ever Bake Off on November 4th in the Student Center. Many desserts entered into the contest were baked with organic ingredients to further promote The Hill’s 2007- 2008 school year theme of environmental sustainability. A total of 10 baked goods were submitted and 50 students and faculty members showed up to taste test the delicious entries and vote for their favorite. The contest raised $150 that was donated to Green Initiative to be used to make our campus more sustainable.   On March 29, Hill students and faculty participated in a dodgeball tournament to raise money for Heifer International, a non-profit organization whose goal is to end world hunger by providing underprivileged families with sources of food, specifically livestock, and educating them on how to rely on their environment to sustain them. The tournament, organized by Samantha Morrissey '09, raised $480. The donations were used to purchase a water buffalo, a llama, a trio of rabbits, and a flock of chicks for underprivileged families. On Wednesday morning, April 9, 2008, all members of Hill's fifth form class took part in a community service project in support of the School’s 2007-2008 environmental sustainability theme. The project involved an extensive clean-up of Armand Hammer Boulevard, with students picking up trash and litter from the highway exit to the hospital. With their effort, the fifth formers helped improve the image of the Pottstown community and contributed to The Hill School’s mission to become more environmentally-conscious throughout the year.   On Friday, April 11, 2008, all fourth form students participated in a community service project helping the Pottstown Parks and Recreation Department clean up local parks. The students were divided into four groups with each assigned a different park, including Memorial Park, Riverfront Park, Cherry Street Park, Walnut Street Park, and Ricketts Center. The students' main responsibilities were to clean up branches and other debris, remove graffiti, fill in playground areas with mulch, and pick up any other litter.   Jonathan Rufe '09 promoted sustainability at The Hill through his bicycle renovation project. Through the years, the School has acquired a small collection of old bikes in need of repairs that have been left on The Hill's property by previous students. Rather than tossing them away in the garbage, Jonathan has decided to refurbish these bikes to serve as "Hill community bikes."   In support of Hill's Environmental Sustainability theme, all third form students participated in a community service project cleaning up the streets surrounding campus on Friday, April 26. The project was a part of PennDOT's Keep PA Beautiful program and took place during the "Great PA Cleanup.”   On Mother’s Day, 40 Pottstown mothers received a special present from their child thanks to a small gesture of kindness from the girls who reside in Hill’s Wendell Dormitory. After returning from community service work as an after-school tutor at the Rickett’s Center on April 7, 2008, Lilian Chen ’09 told her dorm parent that there were children at the center who didn’t have picture frames for a Mother’s Day project they had created. At a dorm meeting the next night, the girls of Wendell Dormitory were told of the situation and were asked to donate money to purchase the frames for these children. In less than a week, more than twice the money needed was raised. On April 15, Lilian, her dorm parent, and a few hall mates purchased and delivered 40 picture frames to the Ricketts Center. The money left over after purchasing the frames was put toward buying board games, balls, glue guns, glitter glue, and other craft materials and games for the center.   In the spring, Monica ’10 and Jackie ’09 Yordan and the Care Colombia Club held a fundraiser to benefit disadvantaged Colombian women during Hill’s Spring Family Weekend from April 30 to May 3. Blue and grey wristbands with “Care Colombia” printed on them were sold for $4 each. All proceeds of the sale went towards purchasing food for poor women and their families in Colombia. In total, the Care Colombia Club raised $562, and The Rev. Dr. John Wm. Houghton, Hill chaplain and instructor of theology, matched that amount through the Chaplain’s Discretionary Fund, for a total of $1,124 raised.   On May 3, 2008, Hill economics students sponsored a concession stand during the lacrosse games and varsity baseball game in support of the Jodi Calvario '03 Memorial Fund. More than $270 was raised during the two hours the students sold drinks, food, and Rita's Italian Water Ice. All proceeds will be donated to the memorial fund.   On Saturday, May 10, members of The Hill community gathered on the Quad for the second annual Teens for a Cure event—a mini-Relay for Life that raises money for the American Cancer Society. Approximately 100 people participated in the three-hour event. White luminaries—bags with a single candle inside—lined the brick pathway, wall, and stairs of the Quad. The luminaries were purchased by participants as means to honor those who lost their battle to cancer or are currently fighting it. A total of $1,000 was raised through Teens for a Cure, and the entire amount was donated to the American Cancer Society. Marissa Gribb ’08, captain of Teens for a Cure, started the event last year in an effort to raise awareness and to give the students unable to participate in Pottstown’s annual Relay for Life a chance to be involved.   In late May, Sam Blake ’08 and other students sold wristbands for $2 each to benefit Veninos. Veninos, which stands for “Venezuelan Children in Need,” is a fully registered, not for profit organization in the U.S. and U.K. that was founded to improve the lives of urban street and shantytown children in Venezuela.   Meet the Need, a student-run organization at Hill, held a successful clothing drive as part of the campus’s annual end-of-the-year clean up. Huntley McGowan ’08, outgoing president of Meet the Need, says the organization “is all about benefiting our community.” During the last two weeks of the year, students were asked to donate clothing they no longer wanted or that no longer fit. All donations were taken to Cluster Outreach Center, a homeless shelter in Pottstown. Hill's Green Initiative also contributed its effort to the end-of-the-year clean-up by asking for donations of any items that potentially could be recycled and reused, such as electronics, metal and plastic items, and worn out fabrics that Meet the Need could not accept. Students also gave unwanted hangers to the laundry service and old textbooks to the admission office. The donated items were taken to Recycling Services, Inc. in Pottstown. Winter 2007-08 Projects: On December 8, during the season opening games of The Hill boys’ and girls’ basketball teams against Episcopal Academy and Pennington School, Hill basketball sponsored a fundraiser for a group called Coaches vs. Cancer, a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Coaches vs. Cancer raises funds in support of the Society’s lifesaving cancer research, education, advocacy, and community service efforts. The program has raised more than $25 million since its inception in 1993 to benefit the Society's missions.   Hill students, faculty, and staff helped local families in need this holiday season by participating in the Salvation Army's Christmas Angel Program. The program supplies families in need within the Pottstown community with food baskets and extra food items on Christmas day. Families with children also receive gifts. Hill's "angels" received tags with information about area children and a short list of appropriate gifts, then purchased these items for the families. More than 100 tags were distributed. The Salvation Army then collects and distributes the gifts.   The Care Colombia Club fundraiser met its goal in December 2007 when the Yordan sisters, Jackie ’09 and Monica ’10, traveled to Barranquilla, Colombia to distribute food to 100 poor women and their families. The sisters raised more than $1,000 in May 2007 by selling wristbands in The Hill’s blue and grey colors. The mission of the Care Colombia Club is to raise awareness of Colombia’s plight. The sisters’ fundraising began in December 2006 when they asked their family to give them money instead of gifts for Christmas. The girls traveled to Barranquilla with their parents that same month and used their money to purchase food for 70 women and their families.   Alex Galasso '09 went to Mrs. Courtney Neese '00, Hill instructor of English, last year with vision of combining her love for ice skating with a fundraiser to help raise money for the American Cancer Society. From this idea, 'Skate for a Cure' was created. Alex and Natalie Simonds '09, along with many other student volunteers, planned and organized the event in its entirety. The event proved to be a huge success, raising $1,189.20.   During the week leading up to Valentine's Day, members of The Hill School's Operation Smile club sold flowers for their annual Valentine's Day sale. All of the proceeds benefited Operation Smile, a non-profit organization that sponsors medical professionals to help correct facial deformities on less fortunate children. This year's sale was extremely successful, with more than $800 raised.   2007-08 Spiritual Life Committee A winter fire that spread from 261 to 269 High Street in Pottstown devastated several businesses and displaced eight families. Hill students in the Student Government Association and the Spiritual Life Committee supported the fire victims. Students, faculty, and staff, in cooperation with the School's food service company, Sodexho, raised $5,000 to assist these families with their new beginnings. On Thursday, February 20, the Spiritual Life Committee took a collection during the chapel service.   The Hill was one of 31 boarding schools across the nation to take part in the Green Cup Challenge, a competition to see which school could save the most energy in an allotted time period. This year's challenge began January 28 and ended February 25. The Hill came out saving 0.41% energy and the School's overall usage was down 7% from last year at this time.   Hill School students and faculty dressed in green in early March to show their support for the environment and an upcoming service trip to Nicaragua. Students sold green ribbons for $3 each, raising more than $1000. From March 6 through March 18, 14 students - along with Andrew Brown, Hill's director of advancement - traveled to Nicaragua, spending 12 days in a small village helping the residents complete tasks ranging from planting crops and gardening to constructing houses. The money raised was used to purchase supplies for the children in a village in the Miraflor Nature Reserve. Fall 2007 Projects:  Ashley Martinez ’08 participated in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s (AFSP) annual “Out of the Darkness Overnight” on Saturday, June 9 through Sunday, June 10, 2007. Ashley, along with her mother and thousands of other participants, walked 20-miles in the fight against suicide. For this project, Ashley raised approximately $2,000. After participating in this venture, Ashley said, “It’s probably one of the most inspirational, yet one of the most emotional things I’ve ever done because so many people from all over the country came together for such an important cause.” In late August, Hill boatbuilding instructor Luke Block took four students—James Green ’08, Jake Gregory ’08, Nick VanVliet ’08, and Laura Wright ’09—to Mantoloking Yacht Club, New Jersey where they sailed in the 2007 World Duck Boat Regatta (WDBR) competition and raised money for Operation Smile. The total amount of money that the students raised for charity was $15,000. Students from The Hill School participated in The Memory Project, an outreach program that gives children who have been abandoned, orphaned, abused, or neglected a chance to have a tangible object from their childhood. Ellen Nelson, Hill instructor of the arts, directed the art students who were involved in this project. Fourteen Hill students were involved in painting portraits for The Memory Project. In addition to painting, the students wrote words of inspiration on the back of each portrait. In The Memory Project, advanced high school art students create original portraits for unprivileged children. Once finished, the portraits are delivered to the children, and the children are invited to create drawings or write letters to send back to the art students. The Memory Project was developed by Ben Schumaker of Madison, Wisconsin. Schumaker developed this project after working for an orphanage in Guatemala. A young man stopped by and explained that he did not have any personal belongings from his youth. The young man left Schumaker with inspiring advice to “try to help the kids collect special items that will contribute to their sense of identity and personal self-worth.” On Friday, October 12, Hill English instructor James Watson and the entire sixth form class volunteered time and effort to help prepare for Pottstown's Schuylkill River Festival, which was held on October 13. Their service was a component of the senior class project, which throughout the term will involve contributing to the Pottstown community. The students aided in the River Front Park beautification process by cleaning up trash and creating displays. The class project tied in with The Hill’s year-long “Sustainability” efforts. Dr. Ann Marshall, Sarah Miller '08 along with her mother Carol Miller, Melody Chang '09, and Eve Cremers '08 participated in the 12K AIDS Walk in Philadelphia, PA in October. Hill's Action AIDS raised $1,515 in only four days. Action AIDS President Sarah Miller said, “It’s great to see that people at Hill really care about this issue even though they were not able to walk.” Ellen Nelson introduced her advanced art students to the idea of using art for more than just personal expression. Through the Cradle Project, she was able to show her students how art can be used to positively impact lives outside of their own communities. A drawer found at a recycling center was used as the base of the cradle. This was a reflection of the resourcefulness of families Ellen had learned about, where open bottom drawers would often be made into impromptu cribs when there were no empty beds. It is the hope of Ellen and her students that this cradle will inspire the child whose crib it becomes and increase awareness to the struggle 48 million sub-Saharan orphans face everyday. Along with Ellen, the students involved were: Jim Taylor, Sierra Bintliff ‘08, Samantha Clouten ‘09, Eve Cremers ‘08, Kate Esbenshade ‘09, Hope Kauffman ‘09, Adelaide Knott ‘08, Elizabeth Kunkle ‘08, Mary Longenecker ‘08, Samantha Lurio ‘09, Caitlin Manak ‘08, Hope Robb ‘09, Brittany Schrack ‘08, and Abby Skolits ‘08. The Hill’s Cooking Club held its first ever Bake Off on November 4th in the Student Center. Many desserts entered into the contest were baked with organic ingredients to further promote The Hill’s 2007- 2008 school year theme of environmental sustainability. A total of 10 baked goods were submitted and 50 students and faculty members showed up to taste test the delicious entries and vote for their favorite. The contest raised $150 that was donated to Green Initiative to be used to make our campus more sustainable.