Greenwich Country Day School Nurtures Hearts and Makes an Impact
Editor’s Note: Every year volunteers of all ages help end hunger by participating in Rise Against Hunger Experience meal packaging events. These volunteer-packaged meals go on to nourish lives around the world. Greenwich Country Day School is one of our amazing meal packaging partners; they’ve packaged 400,000 meals since 2018! We’re thrilled to have Jen Donnalley, the director of the Center for Public Good at the school, share about the school’s meal packaging efforts and why helping to end hunger is important to the school.
At Greenwich Country Day School in Greenwich, Connecticut, we believe in not only educating young minds, but also nurturing hearts that empathize and engage with global challenges. For this reason, our school has worked with Rise Against Hunger for six years. Our partnership with Rise Against Hunger allows us to make a positive impact in the world and enables our students to help alleviate hunger.
Greenwich Country Day School began working with Rise Against Hunger in 2018 when our annual Walkathon theme was food insecurity. We began with a student event, with about 90 students coming together to package 10,000 meals. We’ve been addicted to the gong ever since that first event! Our school has since held 16 meal packaging events (with five of the events happening just this year!) and expanded to involve employees, alumni, families and parents of alumni, as well as the students, to make an impact together.
The buzz of a Rise Against Hunger meal packaging event leaves everyone feeling connected to the cause, each other and the mission of the school. That is why this year, in 2023, the school decided to host more meal packaging events than any other year so far. We hosted five meal packaging events from January to November, with seniors, ninth graders, staff and more participating throughout the year. Our final event of the year on November 17 had 400 people come together to package 50,000 meals.
Beyond this year’s events, as a community, Greenwich Country Day School has packed over 400,000 meals since 2018, and we are determined to get to 1 million! These meal packaging events are an incredible way for our community to come together, and we hope to work alongside Rise Against Hunger until zero hunger is a reality around the world!
The success of Rise Against Hunger is not just in the numbers of people they are reaching; it’s also in the awareness and compassion ignited in those participating in their meal packaging events. Greenwich Country Day School remains dedicated to lighting a fire under the next generation of change-makers, and we appreciate Rise Against Hunger for providing the spark.
We’re so grateful to committed partners like Greenwich Country Day School for joining us in the movement to end global hunger! Find out ways you can get involved and make an impact, too!