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NPHS service class recognized for local work
CRAWFORDSVILLE -- With a focus on enhancing the community in which they live, one set of North Putnam students continues to earn praise for its initiatives within the school district.
The community service class at North Putnam High School was recognized a little more than two weeks ago by Hoosier Heartland State Bank (HHSB) during its fourth-annual Shared Values awards banquet at Southmont High School.
The class received a $1,000 grant, and was also honored as the second runner-up for HHSB’s Shared Values Award. The overall winner was the Women’s Resource Center, which was awarded a $5,000 donation.
The student-led class is advised by Sheri Roach, who traveled with three other teachers to Poland to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
While Roach was unable to attend the banquet, Assistant Principal Brandon Wagler accompanied the group.
Roach invited the Banner Graphic to talk with the class last Friday afternoon. Currently made up of all juniors, she and the students shared what they hope to achieve going forward.
The class was created during the 2018-19 school year as an opportunity for students to receive credit toward community service requirements with Indiana’s Graduation Pathways track.
It was the first community service class to be awarded a $5,000 grant through My Community, My Vision (MCMV), a partnership between the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA) and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs’ program at IUPUI.
The class was recently awarded a $500 MAC Grant by McDonald’s - Jedele Enterprises. The group has also received funds awarded through the Putnam County Community Foundation and the Mary Allison Children’s Trust.
The group is awaiting the go-ahead to create a sustainable community garden at the high school. The space has developed in conjunction with ongoing construction, after initial plans to place it at the community center in Roachdale, and then a location in Bainbridge, didn’t pan out.
Roach told the Banner Graphic that this opens up more grant opportunities through Purdue University and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA). The goal is to sustain the garden at no cost to the school corporation.
Produce will be grown for home economics and life skills classes, with unused portions being donated to the local food pantry. As such, students would be actively involved in maintaining the garden.
The main focus of the current class is the creation of a teen space or “den” inside the Roachdale Community Center. Roach’s students will put in the sweat equity by stripping wallpaper and moving furniture, among other jobs.
A second MCMV grant and money raised by working concessions will go toward the project.
A year ago, the class visited businesses in Greencastle such as Conspire and Starbucks, as well as John Hecko of Bon Appetit at DePauw University, to figure out what it took to create this space. The lessons learned have translated to this group.
“We’ve learned that everything takes a lot of time,” junior Mason Brooks said during the class time.
Roach’s background in grant writing and administration has allowed her students to still be creative in this respect. However, she believes their research tempers their idealism and focuses the class on what it can achieve with the resources it has.
“It’s easy to talk to everyone, and to talk about what we would like to do,” said junior Colton Clifford. “Mrs. Roach sort of guides us into what is possible and not possible, because she is the ‘money lady.’”
The class is one that values a round-table approach, where teamwork and individual contribution help decide the students’ priorities.
“You have to remember that they’re also involved in things like sports, band and clubs outside of school,” Roach told the Banner Graphic. “The students have to be committed, because they also give their evenings and Saturdays.”
Currently, the class is working on putting together food packages and hygiene kits for homeless veterans through Hoosier Veterans and Families (HVAF) of Indiana in Indianapolis.
This came about when junior Katie Watt’s father put the class in touch with HVAF through his connections in the Indiana National Guard.
Donations of travel-sized toiletries, individually-wrapped snacks, socks and rain ponchos are requested, with them being distributed through February and March. Funds from the HHSB award, as well as those raised through concessions, will go toward this effort.
Roach and her students are hoping to inspire greater support from community partners, so that more projects can be developed and then realized in the future.
“These kids can do a stellar job at developing and delivering projects, and we can do more with our community partners and families,” Roach said. “We’ve emphasized that this is a Cougar family, and we look out for each other.”