Taking The Lead

Severna Park Students Give Back Through Projects

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Severna Park High School’s Leadership Institute students make a difference in their community each year by supporting a nonprofit or other cause. The three-year course culminates in the seniors leading a Leadership III service project of their own. These are some of the projects completed this academic year.

Students Making Special Moments

Seniors Camryn Raines and Mallory Trutenko partnered with the Casey Cares Foundation to collect donations to support critically ill children.

The girls were inspired by their involvement in Wish Week the previous year, one of the many community service projects the Leadership Institute leads. After learning that 15,780 children between the ages of birth and 19 years are diagnosed with cancer, Raines and Trutenko wanted to have a positive impact on their recoveries and bring them comfort and care as they undergo treatment in the hospital.

“My sister was a wish kid, so having the opportunity to raise money for such a great cause and lead it was amazing, especially because I know how much of an impact we were truly making,” Raines said.

The girls collected monetary donations, pajamas and handmade cards so they could assemble movie night packages for the children. As part of their project, the girls personally visited the Casey Cares Foundation facility where they were able to work alongside other volunteers to roll pajamas and experience the “magic” that takes place. Through their efforts, Raines and Trutenko raised more than $300, and collected 32 pairs of pajamas and 50 handmade cards.

“Seeing the big impact we had as high school students was such a rewarding experience and inspired us to continue making a difference,” Trutenko said. “We are so glad we took on this project and we intend to continue being involved in our current and future communities.”

The Giving Express

Karli Kirchenheiter and Sophia Miller chose to support Orphan Grain Train, a nonprofit Christian organization that provides relief to those in need throughout Maryland and all over the world.

The Giving Express focused on fundraising for monetary donations, as well as collecting gently used clothing and school supplies items. With a team that consisted of four underclassmen, Kirchenheiter and Miller sent links to friends and relatives who raised awareness for the project and gathered more than $100.

Orphan Grain Train’s website had instructions for creating school kits with backpacks of school supplies. Creating an Amazon Wishlist made this task convenient. The girls presented donors with a list of possible supplies to add to their cart, such as pencils, binders and crayons. The girls gathered and delivered more than 30 school supplies.

The name of the project, The Giving Express, honors the organization's origin story. The Rev. Ray Wilke founded Orphan Grain Train in 1922 after traveling to Russia on a mission trip. Wilke realized that a train could pick up donated grain and be shipped to people in need.

Can Students Actually Save The Children?

Kenneth Coleman and Faith Mercer set a goal of spreading awareness and advocating for global issues by partnering with Save the Children. With their leadership project, “Students Save the Children,” the teammates sought to achieve three goals: raise $150 for the organization, raise an additional $150 to purchase a water package, and create 10 social media posts/posters.

The decision to partner with Save the Children was natural for Coleman and Mercer. The organization was founded by Eglantyne Jebb over 100 years ago, becoming the first global movement dedicated to the wellbeing and development of children. The organization values integrity, ambition and collaboration, all of which the Severna Park seniors felt were essential to the success of any project.

The group met their goal of raising $300 and creating advertisement posts for the betterment of the cause.

You only really feel like a leader after you’ve allowed yourself to be a follower,” Mercer said. “We’ve followed the influences and instruction of the greats, but the leadership institute teaches us how to use stories of the past to build our own of the future.”

Bookworms Giving Back

Caeley Shea and Avery Mead collected used books from around Severna Park and collaborated with the Maryland Book Bank to improve literacy rates and book accessibility.

The duo led their sophomore group members to volunteer at the Maryland Book Bank, sorting books by quality and genre, and removing torn and damaged books. Additionally, they worked with their group members, as well as Severna Park Key Club, to decorate 100 bookmarks for the Maryland Book Bank.

Each girl maintained one of eight boxes at various locations. Altogether, they collected more than 1,200 books.

Helping NICU Babies

Shelby Clark and Alexa Jimeno created a project named “Baby's First Blanket” to benefit MedStar Harbor Hospital in Baltimore. They tried to raise at least $100, create 50 blankets and manage a prosperous Instagram account to raise awareness.

The MedStar Harbor Hospital has, on average, four babies born into addiction each week. Many of these babies are sent directly into the foster care system after recovering from withdrawal.

“Baby's First Blanket” met all of its goals.

“A lot of our area is really blessed,” Clark said. “We don't consider that only 15 miles away, babies are having a rough start to life.”

Toys For Tots

Ainsley Jeffers and Alex Auchincloss partnered with Toys for Tots to bring holiday joy to underprivileged children.

“Everyone deserves a happy holiday season no matter their living conditions,” Auchincloss said. “It is always important to help out the community and make a positive difference in the lives of others. We are proud that we were able to make an impact.”

Toys for Tots was founded in 1947 when Marine Corps Reserve Major Bill Hendricks donated dolls made by his wife. By partnering with their group as well as an outside company, NTC Mazzuca Contracting, the team collected 60 toys, 50 more than their original goal of 10.

“During this process we learned how important it is to give back to our community and how difficult it can be for some families to afford gifts,” Jeffers said. “The holidays are all about giving back and passing kindness forward and that’s what we tried to do.”

Cardz For Kidz

Leadership III student Natalie Tangrea and previous Leadership student Sarah HLaing collected greeting cards and donations for Cards for Kidz. This organization collects handmade cards from around the world to send to children in hospitals, adults in rehabilitation centers and senior homes. The cards are uplifting and help these people feel positive in a difficult time in their lives.

To accomplish this goal, the group created flyers to hang around the school, made an Instagram account to gain support, and created a card drop-off box for the donated cards. They also held a cardmaking event at their school so students could make additional uplifting cards. With a total of 160 cards and $239.39 in monetary donations collected, Tangrea and HLaing consider their project a success.

“This project has taught me how to be more independent and how to effectively communicate with others to accomplish a common goal,” Tangrea said. “It has been amazing to see the support our community has given to our project.”

HLaing said that, “Seeing people working toward the same goals, values and attitude helped me understand the importance of connecting with others and the support we can bring to each other to achieve and overcome something greater than if we were to do it alone.”

Children At Johns Hopkins

A group of Severna Park High School students led by Kyle Jobmann and Max Rossmark raised money and collected donations to benefit kids with cancer by partnering with the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

The Johns Hopkins Children’s Center aims to make kids more comfortable during their stay at the hospital. Jobmann and Rossmark were inspired by Jobmann’s previous stay at the hospital.

The boys raised $690, which contributed to the purchase of 20 toys from a Christmas list provided by the hospital. The boys also collected more than $150 worth of toys that children can use while visiting the children’s center.

Believe In Tomorrow

Ryan LaRocque and Sean Sullivan raised money and supplies for the families of Believe in Tomorrow. Their group aspired to raise $250, make 50 cards and collect 60 wish list items for the respite houses.

Believe in Tomorrow was started in 1982 by Brian Morrison, who wanted to help critically ill children while they were undergoing hospital treatments at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. Over time, it has evolved because they started to look at longer-term needs of pediatric cancer and cystic fibrosis patients.

Birthdays In A Box

Ally Weaver and Sophia Bordone partnered with Sarah’s House to assemble birthday gift boxes, including mug cake mix, balloons, candles and fidget toys. The students dropped off the birthday boxes at Sarah’s House shelter to be distributed to the children living in the shelter on their respective birthdays.

TMF Triumph

Cody Smith and Alex Lecouras, along with their team members, teamed up to spread awareness and fundraise for veterans and their families. The Travis Manion Foundation helped them in their journey to spread awareness for veterans returning home and helping them adjust to life in the regular world.

In pursuit of their goals, the five team members participated in the Travis Manion 9/11 Heroes Run in Annapolis on September 18 as a way to show support. The group raised more than $500 in support of the Travis Manion Foundation.

Oyster Hoisters

Charlie Deegan and Peter Davids partnered with the Oyster Recovery Partnership to clean the estuaries of the Severn River, specifically Back Creek in Eastport.

The Oyster Recovery Partnership builds sanctuary reefs and rebuilds public fishery reefs. Over the last 25 years, the nonprofit has planted 8.5 billion oysters in the Chesapeake Bay and recycled more than 200,000 shells, using them as natural reefs.

As part of the ORP’s greater goal, the pair teamed up with fellow leadership group, Aw Shucks, to clean out invasive species from a Severn River estuary.

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