2016-2017

Class of 2018 Lead Projects

David Evilevitch

My lead for national honor society was organizing and running a Game Changers event at Natick High School. This project was done with roughly 30 students from Natick High School and many are part of National Honors Society. This process was very educational and creating the 'plan' for the night was the most challenging. In small groups, we decided how we wanted the night to go and which topics to focus on. I was put in charge of the introduction powerpoint and spoke briefly in front of all participants. Thereafter, I was assigned to lead a discussion in one of the classrooms with the participants. I learned a lot from this experience, mostly since it was my first, but it gave me confidence to continue leading discussions with my team.

Isabel Greenstein

For my lead project, I chose to help a local cat rescue, Guardian Angels Cat Rescue, make beds and toys for the animals. First, I found a pattern for the beds, planned what, and how much material we needed to make them, and purchased that. I then gathered a group of fellow volunteers, taught them how to make the beds, and together we made beds and toys which we then donated. My work impacted the cats that have been rescued, by helping them feel more comfortable in their new environment, especially during adoption events. During adoption events, which occur weekly, cats are brought to one location to be shown to families looking to adopt, and therefore spend the event in a cage. Since all of our cats live with foster parents in their homes, often times being in a cage can be distressing or uncomfortable for the animals. By putting a bed in their cage, they are much more comfortable and thus often feel more at ease in this stressful environment.

James Scully

For my lead project, I volunteered as a camp instructor at the Son Rock Kids Camp sponsored by the Natick Catholic Community at St. Linus Church. The camp was a week long beginning June 25th and ended June 30th. I led a group of eight 3rd graders, working to keep them safe and engaged throughout each day. I was tasked with leading the group to and from different stations and with being a role model as the kids learned about faith and values. My work had an impact on the campers, their families and the other volunteers. My work also helped the church to reach out to young kids with its message. I enjoyed the experience and plan to recommend the camp to other volunteers.

Nicole Yunes Perez

I think my co-lead project with Pablo Fernandez went really well. We cleaned up a lot of trash from around the lake and had fun time while doing it. However, we could've done a better job in finding more people to help us do it. I think we benefited everyone who uses the lake for recreational activities, and also the animals which would usually ingest the trash within the ecosystem.

Ethan Stone

As a lead project, this spring I volunteered with a group of friends at A Place to Turn. This is an emergency food bank in Natick. Every year they serve many families from all of Metrowest. During the evening that we volunteered, we took on multiple jobs. Our main focus was facilitating clothes donations to families and individuals looking for clothing. We were able to directly engage with the people we were helping, which was really nice. We also helped weigh, organize and sort food. I plan to return to A Place to Turn in the fall many more times, as it is a really great experience. I only wish I would have started volunteering here earlier!

Caroline Chesler

For my lead I ran a soccer clinic through the Natick Soccer club and GPS. Prior to the clinic I was certified in 4v4 coaching, which prepared me with great skills and knowledge to teach young athletes. This Next Generation Coaches Program allowed high schoolers to coach a group of young soccer players over a ten week span. Monday nights at the Cole Center from 5:30-7:30 I led two different coaching sessions, including one skills shooting, and one all around skills. My roll in these sessions was to evaluate the sessions "goal" and create fun helpful drills the children could benefit from. I realized how much I enjoyed working with a group of kids, and that I learned much more from them then they probability did from me. As I got to interact and bond with all the children, I recognized the impact I was making in their lives past just their soccer careers and their impact on me. Caitlin Hatt and Rachel Jasinski were two other high school coaches during the Monday Sessions, and we all agree that this experience was super fun and also very eye opening. We got to see a different side of the youth in our community and be a part of their lives in a positive way.

Eric Loughlin

For my lead project I led and organized a team for Relay for Life. In doing so, I attended Captain’s meetings, personally raised hundreds of dollars, and organized my team to raise close to a total of one thousand dollars for the American Cancer Society. At the track, I set up a campsite for my team to stay at, and I also organized a raffle basket to further raise money. I have had family affected by cancer, so this project meant a lot to me. Everyone on my team raised money, and although we organized fairly late in the process, we made a significantly impactful donation to a good cause.

Peter Thabit

For my lead I volunteered as the relay for life captain, on the team relay for Reiko. As a part of this lead I went to pre-relay meetings, organized our camp sight, and also helped out our team figure out everything for this event. I encouraged our team to all raise $100 each, which we are able to do. My team and I raised a total of $1,400 towards this cause which is a great accomplishment because it surpassed our initial goal. Overall our team did a great job at the event and I was able to organize everything for our team, enabling us to become a successful relay team.

Francesca Verna

As my Lead for National Honor Society, I decided to create a team for Relay for Life and to raise money for the fundraiser. With my closest friends, we chose to do a bake sale because we thought that was the best way to make money for this cause. At first, not many people came to our site but as time went on, and people got hungry, they started making their way over to our baked goods. We made our baked goods one dollar, a good price for a bake sale fundraiser, and raised up to two hundred twenty dollars. All of our proceeds, including the money we raised before the event, went to the American Cancer Society (ACS) to help the costs of cancer patients. This event was held at the Natick High School football field and was originally to be held from 12PM on Saturday to 7AM on Sunday but the weather wasn’t cooperating so it ended at 12AM that night. Overall, it was a great experience and an event I would be apart of again.

Matthew Massa

On May 13th, me and my fellow students made a team for relay for life. We raised money along the way from each of the participants in our team. I, personally, raised $120 and walked the track many times for the cause. I helped discuss fundraising strategies before the event and participated in the event once it came up. I sold baked goods in our bake sale, and helped raise around $60 more by going around selling person to person: an idea of mine that helped sell the majority of the goods we sold. Our work had an affect on cancer patients who benefit from these kinds of programs, as we not only raised awareness and showed support, we also raised money for research that may help them. My team consisted of Trevor Landurand and Jizhen Li. Together, we recruited many other students and helped coordinate/lead the project.

Thomas Conrad

For my National Honors Society lead project, I organized a food drive for the Natick Service Council. I communicated with the current director of the Food Pantry and volunteers, Kelsey Hampton about the items needed by the Food Pantry, as well as Ms. Boudreau, Mr. Cice, and Ms. McDonald about use of building space for the collection boxes. The Natick Service Council is currently going through renovations to make the Food Pantry more easily accessible for those in need, as a result from higher demand; this donation was greatly appreciated, helping them to help more people. The Natick Service Council was very thankful for the donations given, including specialty kitchen items, pasta, stuffing, bread mixes, and vegetable and rice meals.

Kiva Wise

For my National Honor Society lead project, I was the stage manager for the student choreographed recital at the Sereda Dance Works. This was the first time the studio held an entirely student choreographed performance. Many students in the studio are in elementary and middle school. My job has been to register all the dancers, get music for their choreography, create a show order and a playlist of the music, find a backstage manager and MC for the performance, and order rental chairs and video equipment. I really enjoyed the project because I have been in this studio for over 10 years and know all the people very well, so it was great to be able to give back to the younger kids and create a space for them to explore choreographing themselves. We had a turnout of over 50 people at the performance, and one mother even volunteered to make some free concessions and a cake for everyone to enjoy. The project could have gone better in some ways. For example a lot of the parents were used to talking directly to the studio director, and emails with their child’s music or questions that were meant for me were sent to her. I am overall very happy with how the project went, and I would love to do it again next year.

Matthew Walak

On June 5th through the 6th I directed 27 volunteers in building the world’s largest stick bomb to support three local charities: The Natick Service Council, A Place to Turn, and the Disabled American Veterans of Massachusetts. I was the contact point with the administration to reserve the gym for our event and was also responsible for scheduling and running practices to train our builders. I also played a leadership role in the setup of fundraising tables at Stop & Shop, Roche Bros, the Bacon Street Farm, the Farmer’s Market, and at Natick Nights, and was part of the committee assigned to talking to businesses for sponsorships. Overall, the event was a big success as we raised over $4,000 and set a new stick bomb world record with 68,480 sticks.

Kelsey Olen

On May 22, I helped to reorganize the basement at my church, Hartford Street Presbyterian Church, after the sewage pipes had burst, and the basement was flooded. I helped to spread the word about the issue, and gathered some of the youth at my church and the school to help with the project. Once I had a group, I worked with the priest at my church to decide the jobs that should be completed and split up the group to finish the work efficiently. We ended up helping to throw away anything that had been ruined by the flooding, and then helped to put back together classrooms that were a mess from the water removal and floor replacement processes. Our work allowed the basement to be up and running much quicker than expected, which allowed the church to continue teaching Sunday School, as the classes are located in the basement.

Hugh Campbell

The volunteer project with I chose to lead was a service trip to the Appalachian region of West Virginia. With the help of Ms. Roberson and a few others, I organized fundraising, transportation, and the trip itself. On April 15, myself, 14 other students, and 4 advisors drove to Pipestem, West Virginia, where we stayed at the Appalachian South Folklife Center. Over the course of the next week, we met the local people, experienced their culture, and helped with construction and clean up at two job sites. At one, the trailer of Ms. Wallace, we cleaned the entire property, fixed the home's roofing, built a back entrance, and constructed a 20-foot ramp from scratch to make entry and exit easier. At the other, we cleaned and built a large ramp for a half-way house, making it more suitable to live in. Many hours were put into the entire project: whether it was planning, fundraising, or the week on the trip itself, my peers and I put in a lot of time and effort to make it happen.

Scotia Hille

For my lead project, I organized for myself and some members of my youth group to attend a Canoeing for Clean Water event by the Charles River Watershed Association on June 17th. Following our work with invasive species on the youth group Service Project to Washington State in April, we hoped to do some of the same work back home. I found the watershed we are a part of, got in touch with the organization, and communicated all the information for the event to the youth group. At the event, we spent the morning pulling invasive water chestnuts from the water. It is important that they be kept back, because they cover the surface of the water, disrupting the ecosystem and preventing people from enjoying the river. The project was fun and rewarding.

Alex Grace

For my lead this year, I led a Relay for Life team with a friend of mine. This was my second year as a captain for this team, and this year was sufficiently easier than the last. We had a very successful year, as we surpassed our goal of $3000 and added nearly 10 new members to our team. Prior to the event, we ran a very successful fundraiser at Roche Brothers, raising upwards of $900. The event itself was a lot of fun, but due to poor weather, ended earlier than expected. Next year, I would love to participate again, grow the team further, and raise even more money for the American Cancer Society!

Elizabeth Sparicio

My lead for National Honors society was volunteering at the Natick Service Council. I brought donated food from Roche Brothers to the Natick Service Council. I stacked the food there and counted it. This made an impact on the Natick community because I helped the Natick Service Council be more efficient and I helped make more food available to those in need. A few of my friends helped me complete this lead.

Isabella Garbacz

My project correlated with the Natick Special Olympics (which was held in June). I, along with six other leaders, took on different parts of the event and organized groups of volunteers to help everything run smoothly. I focused on the Shuttle Relay and the 50 meter wheelchair walk. The shuttle relay entailed finding younger athletes (first and second graders) and placing them in their correct lanes. The 50 meter wheelchair walk took place in the curve of the track, and (with the help of my volunteers) I was able to run this station successfully. Overall, the occasion was a great success and I am thankful for the opportunity.

Steffani Farquharson

On Wednesday May 24 I brought three other girl to Whitney Place in Natick to volunteer some of our time to the elderly people living there. We planned on baking cookies for them and then meeting with them and sharing stories. To start, I had to contact the activity coordinator of Whitney Place, which proved to be a bit challenging as we had some communication issues. Next, I asked a few of my close friends that I knew would make this project a success and that we would be able to have fun together. After that, we scheduled our day and what was left was baking and the actual visit. Baking was simple and fun–we made the cookies from scratch–and we made about 4 dozen cookies. We also made little notes to connect to the bags that said things like “Enjoy the cookies!” and “Have a beautiful day!” When we made it Whitney Place, we were invited to join a Tai-Chi class, which was extremely relaxing! We were then invited to join everyone upstairs where we decided to teach everyone how to dance the Macarena, and then went around and asked everyone what they did for a living when they were younger. It was so much fun to hear about all of the people and get to know them better. The best part was seeing their faces light up when talking about what they used to do; they all seemed to be so happy. The volunteering definitely impacted the elderly people at Whitney Place, as I believe we made their day a little brighter (and we received incredible feedback); but, more importantly, the volunteering really impacted the other volunteers and me. It made us all feel really good and we were all truly touched by the people we met. What was supposed to be a simple volunteer project to get hours turned into an amazing day full of meeting new friends.

Alexis Ranieri

The volunteer project I lead was called TOPSoccer, The Outreach Program for Soccer. I am a core volunteer along with four other people. Our job is to organize the sessions and be role models for the athletes and buddies. Young athletes with physical/intellectual disabilities come from all over and are able to participate in this program. My job is to hep match up the volunteers and athletes, run a station, and help out with the kids if there are any problems. TOPSoccer meets on Fridays from 4:15-5:30 at the Cole Center in Natick. As a core volunteer I had to arrive early around 4:00 to help set up, along with stay late to put the equipment away and make sure everyone had a ride home.

Trevor Landurand

Over the past three months, I worked with volunteers to repair and enhance one of the playgrounds at the Magic Garden Children’s Center in Lincoln Massachusetts. Our goal was to add new stem experiences to the playground as well as to the field nearby. We build three water tables, a deck box to store sand toys and other equipment. We also used plexiglass and wood trim to build out two easel’s on the side of their large storage shed which faced a soccer field. While we worked at the center, we also repainted the storage shed and worked in their gardens. Overall the children’s center was very appreciative of our work and is excited for the new experiences the center can now provide for their preschoolers.

Julia Guidi

For my lead project, I chose to stay after school in one of the art classrooms and clean some of the supplies. A lot of the supplies in the classrooms at Natick High have been mistreated and are in very bad shape because of that. Many of the paintbrushes have not been cleaned and paint has dried in the bristles, making the paintbrushes unusable. As an art student myself, I wanted to spend some time cleaning out the supplies and making them more usable for students like myself. I highly underestimated the state of the supplies, and the project took me a lot more time than I anticipated. I also procrastinate the project and did not leave enough time for myself to go into the classroom many times to clean. If I could change one thing about this project, it would be to dedicate more time to it. The results of this project were very rewarding for me, as I’m sure they were for other art students as well. I am happy to have been able to do this and hope to be able to spend more time on it in the future as well.

Kevin Zheng

As a member of the Peer Advocates group at school, I was given the opportunity to moderate a community discussion about diversity and inclusion. In April, at our inaugural event, in association with SPARK Kindness, I co-moderated a panel of students, teachers, and parents about the importance of inclusion, with regards to race, sexuality, gender, and disability. The event was very successful, although attendance was lower than we had hoped. Following the panel discussion, attendees went into classrooms where they had discussions led by students in Peer Advocates. In my room, we had great conversations that likely made an impact on everyone in the room. All of the feedback I got from participants after the event was overwhelmingly positive. I hope to continue this work in the future, as I find it satisfying, knowing that I’m making a difference in people’s lives.

Dillon Arno

For my lead project I first started by making bracelets, as seen in the picture below. I created the bracelets in order to raise money for a community hockey team that I play for. I was able to sell the bracelets before and after practices and games with the help of my teammates and coaches. I was able to sell 36 bracelets for a total of $108. The money went back into the team for jerseys and ice time. Although I would have wanted to sell more bracelets, the project went well overall.

Sehin Assefa-McNeil

For my lead, I decided to plant flowers in my neighborhood. This included buying the flowers, planning where to plant the flowers, and finally planting the flowers. On June 11th I planted the flowers in my neighborhood, South Natick Hills. I did this with the help of Isabel Greenstein and Arshia Kaur. We were able to plant all the flowers that were bought, I just wish we had bought more flowers because we still had more space to fill. Even still, the neighborhood looks a lot more colorful and welcoming.

Isaac Wolfson

For my lead project, I organized a drive for the Jimmy Fund. I collected art supplies, DVDs, and headphones that will all be donated to the children of the fund, hopefully bringing them joy in times of difficulty. I contacted a leader at the fund whom I have worked with in the past, and got her recommendation for what to collect. I wish the best for those who are struggling and cannot wait to bring smiles to their faces!

Samantha Popp

For my lead project, I organized a bake sale at the high school on June 15th. I bought and baked some desserts to sell, and I set up a little stand outside of the cafeteria, complete with baked goods and a sign. The profits of the bake sale went directly to the Natick Parks and Recreation Department in order to supply the summer camps with sunblock in an effort to combat melanoma. I organized two volunteers to help me bake, set up, and work the sale. It was very rewarding because the fight against melanoma is a personal issue for me, so working to prevent it was a gratifying experience.

Angela Fisher

For my National Honors Society lead I worked to cut down on the amount of recyclable material that just gets thrown away at my work, Bill's Pizza. I co-led with Lynda Kattany to get a plastic bin to collect cardboard, and during our shifts we would breakdown the cardboard boxes and other recyclable materials. Every few days we would independently recycle the cardboard instead of throwing it away with the rest of the trash like we usually do. I really enjoyed this project because I think it is so important to help increase the amount of recycling and cut down on trash. It is beneficial for the environment, which should be a priority for our society.

Andrew Breton

For my lead project I worked in partnership with the Natick Service Council to replenish their personal care items. The Natick Service Council was running low on personal care items and therefore was at risk of not being able to provide for their clients. I went to drug stores and supermarkets in Natick and asked for donations of a few personal care items. I met with the managers and/or contacted their corporate offices. The project was a success and I was able to donate lots of personal care items to the service council. The results of this project benefitted those who the Natick Service Council serves.

Katharine Knapp

For my lead project I helped to sponsor the Paws for Cause 5k in Natick on April 31st. This fundraiser raised money for project Samana, which is based in the Dominican Republic and aims to provide care and shelter for animals. We raised a ton of money and had an amazing turn out. With the help of Ariel Franz, I was able to lead the 5k and direct the runners where to go and also where to park. Together, we also helped run a table for Sweet Meadow Farm, the company that helped to sponsor the run.

John Verity

On Sunday, May 7, I led a small group of volunteers (Hayden Scully and Ben Everett-Wilson) in volunteering at Pine Street Inn--a shelter for homeless men and women in Boston that relies heavily on volunteer resources to fulfill their mission. We started our service by folding, labelling, and sorting laundry in the locker rooms to then be distributed to the shelter’s clients before their showers. Once we had finished sorting, we reported to the women’s section of the shelter for dinner service. After helping set up the meal, we served plates to each client based on their preference and gave seconds to some as well. We ended our volunteerism by cleaning the service area after dinner and speaking with the main chef, who informed us of the impact that our work had on the many women that came in that night.

Alexandra Chalmers

I organized the first ever NHS community music festival for girls education in the Gambia West Africa. This was a huge event that took place on Saturday June 10th at Natick High School. It included live music outside on the front lawn, food trucks, activity booths, a raffle and silent auction, an art walk, and a full concert inside the gym. But I could not have done this on my own, I received help from many of the Change the World Club members and my family and friends. The purpose of this event was to raise money for Gambian girls tuition who are a part of a program called Starfish International -a non-profit organization which is devoted to educating as many young women as possible in Lamin Village. We had originally planned on hosting five Starfish students in Natick during the event so that they could experience America and witness the support and love from our community. Unfortunately just days before their arrival the girls were denied their visas and were not able to come. While this was very devastating it pushed all of us who were involved to work even harder to make the event great and honor the girls who could not make it. Both the Gambians and the NHS students grew more united than ever and formed deeper bonds in a joint determination to not give up. The event also raised a ton of money which we will be sending to the girls so that they can continue their education in the Gambia. I am very moved to have had this experience and it is something that will stay with me a lifetime.

Elena Babson

For my national honor society lead I chose to clean up sassamon golf course. This course is located very close to my house and I know somebody who works there that said the coarse often has a lot of litter and they are looking for help to clear this up. I decided to reach out to some of my friends who I know are passionate about the environment and would find this to be an awesome opportunity to help. These friends were willing to help when I contacted them, so I then got in contact with Dave Simmons who said that our help would be needed at the coarse. We organized to come into the coarse on June 5th after school. When the day came, I met all who helped at the golf course. Employees there showed us areas by the woods where trash had collected. Because sassomen is surrounded by woods and a stream, there were large amounts of litter around in these areas on the very outskirts of the coarse. The girls and I got to work picking up these large amounts of trash and . I was shocked to find many food wrappers and water bottles simply thrown on the ground. In the time that we cleaned the coarse, we were able to dispose of a lot of trash properly (through recycling or trash cans). I feel that this project was a success because we were able to help the golf course remove this waste while simultaneously helping the environment by clearing trash.

Michael Galaid

For my lead project, I organized a food drive for A Place to Turn located in Natick. This food drive aimed to collect various items that are listed as “needed” on A Place to Turn’s website. The drive took place in multiple neighborhoods in the Natick area. The drive impacted the many people who go to A Place to Turn in order to receive food, clothes, and other items. There were more than 100 cans collected, and there were many other useful products collected and donated as well. The help I got from the project was from my mom, and she mainly helped me separate the donations into appropriate groups.

Julia Mariano

For my lead, I co-lead with Carly Erickson, captaining Team Hope for this year's Relay For Life held at our very own Natick High School turf. The first steps that we took to lead the team were recruiting our team members, giving them the forms necessary to participate, informing them with any new information, and attending the bi-weekly Captain's Meetings. Carly and I organized a bake sale at Roche Brothers, to raise money for our team. Even though it was raining on the Sunday of the bake sale, we ended up raising over $140. It was required that each team donated a gift basket that went up for raffle on the day of Relay, so Carly and I decided to do an ice cream themed basket. As the day of Relay approached, we helped to organize our team supplies for the event, such as a tent, some tables, coolers, drinks, and more. We decided that we wanted to do an additional fundraiser on the actual date of Relay, May 13th. With some creativity, we came up with the fundraiser that a person pays $3, they chose a number between one and forty located on a poster board, and whatever number they chose, they get the prize that it says underneath the number (the person playing the game does not know what prizes are underneath each number). For example, if underneath the number seventeen was a gift card, then whoever chose that number, after paying, would receive that gift card. Some of the prizes that were donated were as follows; many 1-week free passes at LA fitness, a Natalie's gift card, George's gift cards, and a Bertucci's gift card. All of the money made at the on-site fundraiser went to our team also, and we ended up making over $120. The money that our team raised all goes to the American Cancer Society, which helps to support (emotionally, physically, and financially) cancer survivors and those who are living with cancer currently. Overall, the project was very successful and I'm glad I was able to do it with the amazing Carly!

Anna Nottonson

My lead project took place over the course of the year. I did my lead project through the Change the World club with Mr. Mortara, and I worked as one of the seven leaders. Each leader was in charge of a different aspect of the event, and I was in charge of the itinerary. We raised money to send 5 girls from the Gambia to the U.S., so it was my responsibility to create a schedule that the girls would follow when they were here and raise money so they can go to fun events like baseball games and really experience all we have to offer. Being the itinerary leader included working with a group of peers to find/come up with and fundraise for events. The goal of this project was to impact the Gambian girls by giving them fun, new experiences in America since they have never been here before and live in a very different part of the world. To help me with my lead, I worked with a group of 10 other people who provided ideas and helped fundraise. Overall, there was a lot of work put into this project over the course of the year, but the process was rewarding.

Jordan Arnold

For my national honor society lead, I created a food drive for the middle school in Worcester. I collected food donations all through the month of May and dropped the food off June 9th. I did this with the help of my brother, my mother, and one of my friends. I am very fortunate for what I have and what my family has provided for me. I feel that it is amazing to give back to those who are less fortunate than I. School kids should not have to worry about food and having enough to eat each night. That is what I hope to accomplish by taking this lead in creating a food drive.

Elizabeth Lewis

For my lead project, I ran the tutoring center for fourth term. This consisted of organizing tutoring hours, communicating with Ms. Camiel frequently about changes that can be made to the tutoring center and general system, suggesting ideas for improvements, and recruiting new tutors. I also was a tutor myself, so I could be even more involved with the tutoring center. This way, I could observe to see for myself what improvements could and should be made to the system. My lead project certainly helped the underclassmen being tutored, and likely assisted the tutors themselves, as well as Ms. Camiel. I found that my job could have gone better in some ways: for example, lots of the coordinating aspects of the job automatically fell to Ms. Camiel and Ms. Conroy, because they involved communicating directly with the principal, guidance counselors, and other staff members, and included logistical issues that I, as a student, had no power over. Thus, I could have done more for the project, but that would have been difficult and, in some cases, impossible. However, I still think many people benefitted from my work as tutoring head, and I certainly learned a lot about leadership from it as well.

Julia Adelmann

For my National Honors Society lead project, I had the opportunity to raise money for pediatric cancer. This event went through the Go4theGoal initiative. I organized a charity softball game where all of donations and proceeds we made went towards children with cancer in our area! When the varsity softball team played Walpole, both teams wore golden shoelaces in support. This was a very fun event and I really enjoyed being able to raise money for a great cause.

Owen Chase

For our lead project, Brett Davidson and I coached a U10 boys soccer team for the 2017 spring season. This project required us to run one practice a week, coach a game every Saturday and many other things involving the Natick youth soccer program. This was definitely a new experience for both of us as we had to figure out how to make the kids work hard and as a team. Our team had a wide variety of players, some talented, some beginners. The challenge was to put all of them together on one team in a very short period of time in order to be a successful team. The season concluded with a jamboree and it showed how our team had come together and improved from the beginning of the year. The telling point on how the season went came after the season when our team was the only team in the league to have 100% of our team sign up to play soccer next year.

Hannah Alich

My second lead project was a donation drive for Cradles to Crayons, a non profit organization that helps children in need in the greater Boston area. The drive was divided into 2 parts. One was held at the school and the second was held in my neighborhood. I received very few donations at the school drive; however, the neighborhood drive was very successful! This is because I personally talked to neighbors with kids and gave them a bag and flyer that they could put the clothes in. Furthermore, I expanded the drive to books and other items that Cradles to Crayons accepts which gave more flexibility to my neighbors. I received many bags of donations and am very happy with the result. The donations will go to Cradles to Crayons and then will be distributed to children in need.

Hanako Batt

For my lead project, I organized a food drive at my local church in Falmouth. I formed a group of five other volunteers to help me set up donation boxes and organize an event. Our group collected over 150 non-perishables and raised over $200. Our responsibilities included setting up boxes, putting up flyers, collecting monetary donations, and arranging a bake sale event. It was a very fun event and the food pantry was grateful for the donations. It is such a great event to help those in need. We hope to run it again next year!

Julia Joseph

For my lead, I helped plan and run a community event for my temple youth group. The goal of this event was to increase youth engagement by getting as many teens to sign up as possible. We planned a fun, Clue themed scavenger hunt where we made a life size Clue game. This event was very successful, as we had over 40 teens attend the event and received great feedback from the participants! I am glad that I got to plan such a successful event and can't wait to plan this event again next year.

Kateri Miller

For my National Honors Society lead project I organized for myself and two friends, Madison Brothers and Anna Wilson, to visit the Cradles to Crayons Giving Factory warehouse in Brighton, MA. At the foundation we worked to help sort, inspect and package donations that will be delivered to children in need of these items. Our specific station was called “outfits” where we put together packages of 7 outfits for 12-18 month baby girls. At this station we got to match clothing and make sure every piece of clothing the child will receive was in prideful condition. In preparation for this event we also collected and brought in our own items to donate. These items included anything from diapers to old clothes and books. This experience was very fun and rewarding; we got to meet many other volunteers and make an impact in the Boston community.

Brett Davidson

For my lead I had the privilege of doing something revolved around what I love: soccer. Owen Chase and I were given a 3rd and 4th grade intramural team that together we would coach. Practices—starting in late March—were every Tuesday behind the Natick High baseball field from 630-730. Over the course of the season we learned how to best grab the attention of these crazy kids through different drills and games. Every practice one of us would have a gameplan for what we would do and every game we would have a starting lineup. Games were every Saturday morning at Memorial school against other teams with kids from Natick. At the season's end I felt like Owen and my coaching had positively influenced every player's game. In addition to coaching we also both evaluated a tryout and got a good understanding of players at this age level, rating kids based off of skill compared to others. I felt like we had really impacted our team well and it was great to be told that our team was the only one in the league with 100% of the team signing up for the following year. I hope I can have another experience coaching next year as this service was an enjoyable one.

Madison Brothers

For my lead project, I was a team captain for Relay for Life in Natick. I lead a team of 10 students from Natick High along with my co-captain Zoe Jackowitz. Our team raised over $1,500. Our responsibilities included attending informational meetings, collecting forms, and keeping the team on track. We fundraised the months leading up to the event and walked the track all day long. It was a very fun day and the event raised thousands for the American Cancer Society towards cancer research and treatment. It is such a great event to support those suffering from cancer. We plan to participate again next year!

Tasha Kalra and Fiona Traub

For our co-lead, we made stress balls out of flour and balloons and sold them during school lunches from May 22nd through May 26th. We raised close to $50, and will be donating the money to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. We chose this charity because in our environment, stress can often become overwhelming. We want people to realize that there are ways to cope with suicidal thoughts, depression, and stress. By selling stress balls, our hope was to reduce some of that stress for students, allowing them to release tension throughout the day. Overall, this project went smoothly. After sending out a google form offering other NHS students assist hours, we were able to make enough stress balls with those who offered to volunteer. We then sold almost all of the stress balls to students by the end of the week. One issue we had was relying on other members of National Honors Society to assist. This made it slightly difficult to remain organized on the project, as many people failed to show up. Despite this small setback, the project was very successful and fulfilling.

Caitlin Hatt

For my National Honor Society lead project I chose to run a clinic for Natick soccer youth to help coach them and teach them about soccer. Before all of this, I was certified with a training course to prepare me to coach the young kids. I chose to work with young girls, aged 6 and 7. On every Monday from 5:30 to 7:30 I worked with this group of girls. This program went for about 2 months in June and May. With every session I saw improvement in the girls and was able to connect with them. I had realized I was making an impact on these girls, and it was effecting them in a good way. I performed this lead project with Caroline Chesler, and with Taylor Brown and Annie Gee with them working on different days with different teams. I had an amazing time coaching these young girls and loved teaching them and learning from them in the coaching aspect. It was a great experience where I was able to combine my love for soccer with my love with volunteering and working with young children.

Katie Lucenta

For my lead I lead a group of 7 girls in the Change the World club to prepare for our fundraiser this spring for girls education in the West Gambia. I lead my group to do a bake sale to fundraise for the event, organized water/drinks at the event, and aided other group leaders in preparing for the event.

Lior Zippel

For my lead project I, along with a group of my peers, did a cleanup trip of the Franconia Ridge trail in New Hampshire. We left early in the morning so as to have extra time on the trail to collect trash. We ended up filling an entire trash bag; the weight of which we did not anticipate when planning the hike, as it was heavy and cumbersome to carry down Mount Lafayette– the end of the trail. Our initial plan was to do the hike Sunday, May 21st, but we had to reschedule for some of the people who would be coming were still tired from the prom. I ought to have recognized that though prom is on Friday, it does take up the entire weekend; next time I will plan around the prom. In the end we were able to pick up a lot of trails on the trail, but, inevitably, there will be more trash in the future and a continued effort is required to maintain the trails.

Andrew Avalos

For my lead, I co-lead along with Kevin Zheng a fundraiser for the organization Sticks for Change. Sticks for Change has set out to build the world’s largest stick bomb while simultaneously raising money for three charities: Natick food pantries (A Place to Turn and Natick Service Council), and Disabled American Veterans. This fundraiser took place at Roche Brothers from 10 am to 4 pm on Sunday, May 21. To collect money, we stood at a table and offered customers the chance to sign a stick to be used in the world record in exchange for a dollar. Using this method, we raised $493. All proceeds go towards the three charities listed. Additionally, this endeavor required the help of the likes of Aditya Ramachandrababu, Lior Zippel, David Schneider, Lucas Mastromatteo, and Matthew Walak, who kindly stood at the table each for a segment of the time to help collect money.

David Schneider

For my lead, I ran a get-together for my church, held at St. Linus Church. This get-together entailed a pizza dinner, many activities for children, as well an opportunity for adults to meet each other and build a stronger community. I personally spent hours spreading word of the dinner, ran many activities at the event, brought the food for the dinner, and organized volunteers. I needed help for this project, so I contacted the head of a religious education class for sophomores and asked if any of the sophomores were willing to help me in running this event. About nine sophomores volunteered to help me, and I organized tasks for them to do on the day of the event. This event impacted many people within the church community. Approximately 65 people attended my event, and many of them did not know each other. This event allowed them to spend time together, forging new relationships in the process.

David Carey

For our lead project, Quinn Palmer and I organized a group of friends–Will Brodnitzki, Christian D’Antonio, and Jack Canney–to collect recycling from close neighbors and family friends over a course of three weeks and turn in the cans for money at Stop & Shop. Then, we donated all the proceeds to the Natick Service Council. We kicked off the project on May 1st, collected and cashed the cans each of the next three Saturdays, and compiled a total of 1,244 cans, which amounted to a $62.20 donation. In retrospect, our work, along with the projects and donations of others, positively impacted many Natick families in need of assistance. The money we raised was likely directed toward after school care, food, and summer camp scholarships for various members of the community. Doing this project opened my eyes to the fact that there are many ways that we, as members of society, can work to help those in need. Before, I never would have thought of turning in my used cans for money to donate to others; now, I realize that charitable acts like these can be done without much time or effort. It’s much easier to make a difference than you’d think.

Carly Erickson

In this project, I led my team with Julia Mariano in participating in Relay for Life. We attended relay, walked many laps and ran a very successful on-site fundraiser that made over a $100.00. In addition, to raise more money for the American Cancer Society, we held a 4-hour bake sale prior to the event where we made slightly less than $150.00. This project went great and I am happy I am apart of something that benefits cancer patients.

Brian Coco

Hello! I am Brian Coco, and I lead a relay for life team along with Jizhen Li. This relay was a wild ride: I began with only 4 people, which eventually went down to 3. However, my team had a problem with chaperones, so I tried to share chaperone duties with Jizhen’s team. When I found out this was not allowed, I had my team merge with Jizhen’s, and we shared the remaining leadership duties. Jizhen and her team members were very cooperative and helpful, which was hugely appreciated, as I would not have been able to do relay without them. Overall, the combined team raised over $1,400, which was a huge success. During the relay journey, I went to meetings, send fundraising emails, bought the food for our team basket, and of course participated in relay by walking. Our work helped raise money for fighting against cancer, helping those affected by cancer. All of our teammates were helpful through the relay process, but no one more so than Jizhen. She helped me understand what I was doing and how to handle the tough planning process. Overall relay was a wonderful experience and I look forward to doing it again next year.

Quinn Palmer

For My National Honors Society lead project David Carey and I organized a group of friends-Will Brodnitzki, Jack Canney, and Christian D'Antonio-to collect cans and bottles from neighbors and family friends. Over the past three/four weeks we organized and collected cans and cashed them in for money at Stop & Shop. We then donated all proceeds to the Natick Service Council. On May 1st we started distributing bags to the friends listed above.On May 6th we began picking up the bags and continued on each of the three following Saturdays to turn them in for cash. In total we collected over 1200 cans and raised $62.20. As a result of our work, and the kindness of friends to help in making donations, we played a small part in assisting families in need from Natick. The money we raised will likely be directed toward school care, replenishing the food pantry, and financial aid for summer camp programs. The project really opened my eyes to how far a simple act of community service can go for the Natick families in need. Something as easy as saving your recycling can go as far as putting a meal on someones table.

Alexandra Lallensack

This past Saturday, on May 27th, I organized a dodgeball fundraising event held in my church gymnasium. The purpose of this event was to raise funds for a service project organization called HOPE Youth Corps(HYC), where people from all over the country serve in various places throughout the world. Members of my church, HYC participants, as well as Ali Chalmers assisted me in the complex arrangements and preparation that went into this event. We organized an online registration, created a Facebook invite, sold bracelets, and did various other things to promote the cause and gather other peoples' interest. Approximately 16-20 people contributed in some way to the event and/or donation funds. As a result, we raised a total of $190. I am very pleased by how this event turned out, as this group was able to unify and support those serving through the HOPE Youth Corps organization.

Will Cuozzo

The community service project that I led this year was centered on aiding baseball players in less fortunate areas of Africa, Asia, South and Central America, and Eastern Europe. At games and practices I collected new and lightly used baseball equipment that my teammates wished to donate. With the help of my classmate, Eric Loughlin, I packaged this equipment and shipped it to Pennsylvania, where the organization Baseball Without Borders then sent it around the world. I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer amount of equipment that people were willing to give, so extending the collection period may have yielded even greater returns. In the end, this project was very satisfying since the donations ultimately help people pursue an interest that they may otherwise not have considered as an option.

Audrey Kang & Lizzie Huliston

For our lead project, Elizabeth Huliston and I ran a book drive for Trotter Elementary school in Roxbury. We went to local businesses and set up boxes for donations over the months of April and May. We also reached out to friends and family to collect books. The books were for children ages 4 to 14, and we were able to collect 270 books! The school asked us to then sort the 270 books we collected. We went through and boxed which were best for certain age groups, and that the quality was acceptable. The book drive was a major success, and we were able to not only give new life to forgotten books, but we were able to give children the gift of reading.-AK

Rose Arena

For my lead project I rejuvenated the garden at the Riverbend Nursing home. I spent two Sundays working on the project after talking with the activities director who told me they needed help to re plant the garden. The first Sunday I fixed the soil by putting in new soil and putting in trellises. The second Sunday I planted all the fruits and vegetables that the nursing home wanted to grow. My work will have an impact on those living in the nursing home because the garden provides many with another activity to do during the summertime, and I also saved a lot of time for the staff at the home. Rebuilding this garden was a success, and hopefully the garden will be too!

Jenna Yong

For our lead project, Sarah Friedlander and I asked for permission from Ms. Boudreau to hang up posters around the school. We organized fellow members of National Honor Society to stay after in the school library to make motivational posters. The posters encouraged students to keep up the hard work, and do well on their final, to boost student morale. On the last day of our project, Sarah and I hung the posters up on the second and third floor of the building, in front of the bathrooms. I really liked our idea, and I’d love to do it again next year, or at least something like it.

Alanna McDonald and Jaqui Kaliouby

For my lead this year, Jacqui Kaliouby and I baked cookies and wrote cards for each department of teachers, for Teacher Appreciation Day. Over 300 cookies were baked, with the help of some friends. This not only made us feel as though we were helping the community, but we were able to make sure that teachers know that their hard work does not go unnoticed. Overall, the project went really well and was gratifying for both of us.-AM

Sarah Friedlander

For my lead project, Jenna Yong and I made motivational posters after school in the library for three different sessions with groups of people from National Honors Society. First, Jenna and I talked to Ms. Boudreau and got the posters approved for hanging. These posters encouraged students to keep going and motivate them to do well on their finals, something students are starting to lack. On our last session, Jenna and I hung up the posters around the second and third floor.

Zoe Jackowitz

Madison and I created a team called F[I]GHT [CAN]CER that participated at Natick High's Relay for Life. Our team took turns walking laps to raise awareness about the devastating impact cancer has on people’s lives and on the community as a whole. As one of the team leaders, I communicated with various donors and educated people on the impact of their donations. I met with F[I]GHT [CAN]CER to inspire them, discuss ways to fundraise, and improve our ability to work as a team. We were strengthened by effort, commitment, and dedication. Reaching and surpassing our goal came from hard work; hard work came from our collective passion. By organizing bake sales, sending emails, going door to door, and speaking with local businesses, we raised a lot of money that we proudly donated to the ACS. Madison and I attended multiple meetings at ACS to get information to repeat back to our team and chaperones. Taking initiative in order to make a difference at Relay for Life, showed me what it takes to be a leader and how that leadership can pay off in great results.

Eli Nottonson

The project went very well and we donated over 250 items. There was a lot of awareness and planning that went into the project that I felt was successful. The interclass competition for the food drive could’ve gone better because no one donated from any of my classes. There were a plethora of anonymous donations. On Saturday, April 29th, I brought all the food in to NSC, and stayed fro several hours helping to organize. During this time, I directly met the people and families I was supporting in Natick and lots of the food that the food drove rose was used by these families.

Grace Chouinard

For my lead project, I made the advertising brochure for Change the World Club’s Natick Community Music Festival. I worked with other leaders in the club and collaborated with other people within the Town of Natick in order to gather the information needed to create the brochure. I needed to finish the brochure with enough time before the benefit concert because there needed to be enough time to spread the word among communities surrounding Natick. The brochure I made was used to advertise a benefit concert whose purpose was to raise money for girls education in Gambia, Africa. This was very successful, and am super excited for the benefit concert on June 10th!

Annie Gee

For my project I lead a soccer clinic, and later my own team. To start, I applied for the Next Generation Coaches Program which is an organization that educates and develops high school aged students to become coaches / leaders for their community and beyond. I went to trainings and classes through this initiative, and they gave me the connection to a youth clinic. I organized, planned, and got supplies for this clinic that I went to twice a week starting in April and ending in June. Over the course of the spring soccer season I was able to coach a team of first and second graders during the clinic and their normal weekly games. I got to connect with the children and most importantly, I was able to lead them in a way that gave back to a community that has lead me throughout my own childhood.

Allie Collins

In my lead project I was an assistant coach for the youth girls lacrosse program. I was with girls in grades 4th and 5th. I specialized with goalies when I went to help out and I would practice with them on Monday nights at the Natick grass fields. Mainly I would teach them the basic steps to being a goalie by going through drills with them and having them get live shots from the other field players. I tried to make the practices as fun as I could to make the girls love playing goalie. This really impacted the girls who wanted to try out goalie because they were able to see if they would like to pursue being a goalie or not. For most of them it was also the first real training they have ever gotten with being a goalie because the youth coaches don't usually focus a lot on training specifically with goalies.

Taylor Brown

For my National Honors Society lead project, I chose to work with the Natick Youth soccer program and help coach a team. After being certified in a training course, I was assigned a U10 girls team, to train every Tuesday night from 5-6 for the end of April, and for May and June. I coached the girls, and taught them important soccer skills, but also things like being a good sport, being a good teammate, and learning to work hard. It was a lot of fun to meet the girls and work with them each week, and I really enjoyed doing this, as I am passionate about soccer, and I love working with children.

Dani Schultz

As my NHS lead project, I lead my 5th grade students in a card making activity. We created cards for soldiers who have no family and re living and serving for Israel. The kids really seemed to enjoy making cards for people who were not being acknowledged enough and made around 10 each. I wish that perhaps I could have gotten one of these soldiers who now lives in America to come in and talk to them and inspire them. My project would have gone smoother with some more craft materials and perhaps a little more time. I am really happy with the lesson that they learned, that we must support people in all nations and from all backgrounds, and the smiles I'm sure the cards put on soldiers faces when they received them!

Gabi Dixon

For my lead project, I organized and executed a collection for Camp Arrowhead, a summer camp for people with special needs. I asked students of NHS and members of the Natick community to give art/sensory supplies or financial donations. I left a collection box in the NHS front office, posted on social media, and spoke at my church to in order to promote the collection. I received a lot of support from the Natick community, collecting over one hundred dollars and a few art supplies items.

Charles Gagnon

On May 20, I coordinated a fundraiser at Stop and Shop in Natick for Sticks for Change, a student group at Natick High School. I contacted Stop and Shop to schedule the fundraiser, and organized the volunteers who assisted with the project. The project was extremely successful, as Stop and Shop was generous enough to donate the proceeds from their charity grill that day, and allowed us to fundraise at the entrances to the store. All funds from the project are directly supporting three local charities (the Natick Service Council, A Place to Turn, and the Disabled American Veterans), while representing the community's support for the Sticks for Change world record attempt on June 6. Hopefully, the success of this project indicates the future success of the world record attempt.

Emily Whitten

My lead is ongoing into the next school year, but I started it at Charles River School in March and have been meeting with members of the project since then. We are planning a resource page on LGBTQ+ issues and an educational event. So far in this project I have helped outline a resource guide, help plan how our work will factor in with curriculum, introduce the project to students and outline a winter event. I have been collaborating with the student body’s GSA and working with students to brainstorm events and research topics as well as meeting with the heads of school to discuss events and curriculum. So far my work has not had an impact, because it is in the early stages, but the work will go out eventually to 200+ students, 45 faculty members, and the families of students. Hopefully it will encourage a conversation on LGBTQ+ issues and educate community members. This will affect the school community as a whole, and hopefully they will bring it wit them to other parts of their lives. I have recruited fellow Peer Advocates and GSA members, but the work will mostly be done with the seventh and eighth graders at CRS. I look forward to seeing the final product of my work next winter.

Alexis Reisner

This year for my lead project, I was the captain of my Relay for Life team “Cancer Never Sleeps”. This event was held at the Natick High School Turf on Saturday May 13th, 2017 and my team and I raised over 1000$ to support the American Cancer Society. As captain, I had to attend various meetings at the American cancer Society, organize our site on the track and make sure that my team was on track with our fundraising as well as getting all paperwork done in order for my team to be able to participate. This event went really well as we passed our goal of raising 1000$ to help find a cure for cancer. The event was shortened because of bad weather but I am looking forward to participating in it again next year.

Alex Murphy

For my lead project I built "birthday boxes" for an organization called Birthday Wishes. This nonprofit helps provide birthday parties at shelters or the materials required for a birthday party to kids ages 1-17 who are homeless and can not afford to celebrate. The birthday box program is where you create a wrapped box with all the necessities needed to have a birthday party. I worked on the project with Oskar Lindell and some family members at the organizations main office in newton and also donated them there. It was a really good experience and I plan to do other things with the organization this summer.

Nicole Segale

This year I was a captain of my Relay For Life team along with Maggie Cusack. Our team, called walk this way, raised $2,555 making us number 18 out of 100 teams and putting us $1,555 above our goal. However, raising money was not all that was done for the cause. I have personally watched close relatives battle with cancer and have dealt with loss. Because of this I wanted my team to truly understand the lives they were effecting by participating, and so I organized a car wash fundraiser and pushed them to raise the most money possible. Being a captain also meant I did a lot of organization and attended various meetings. Overall it was a huge success despite the gross weather.

Arshia Kaur

For my lead project, I planned and led a bake sale to raise money for Project Hope. Project Hope runs a school in an impoverished area of Liberia. I worked with the school to plan my bake sale, made posters all over the school to raise awareness about it, and baked goods to sell. Many people helped me, including Abigail Elliott, Emily Chalfin, Abigail Learner, Samantha Popp, and Emily Blume. The bake sale went very well, and we raised over $140 for Project Hope. The people that benefited from this project were the children who now get to go to school thanks to Project Hope. I am happy that I got to help in some way, and the bake sale was a lot of fun to run and plan.

Pablo Fernandez

On April 21, 2017 Nikki Yunez Perez and I brought a couple of friends into Pegan Cove, a trail in Natick, to clean up any trash left behind. Nikki and I got in touch with the Natick High Earth club to borrow several trash pickers. We also contacted the Natick Public Works Department for approval. They gave us to the approval we needed and also offered to pick up the bags of trash at the main entrance. Everything went smoothly and the people walking on the trial applauded us. If I were to do a project similar to this one I would invite more people. With planning and the actual pick up it took us around 6 hours. Although it was long, it was worth it because the trial was a lot dirtier than we expected and no one was cleaning it up.

Julia Medeiros

My lead, along with my co leader Steffani Farquharson, took place at Whitney Place in Natick, MA. Steffani and I, along with our small group, went to Whitney Place on Wednesday May 24th from 11:30-4 pm. Throughout the process, Steffani and I coordinated with Monisha Kumar at organizing a time to come and talk to the residents. We also organized the plans of our group going from the school, to the store, to Steffani’s house to bake, and to and from Whitney Place. Our work had an impact on the dementia residents as well as us. When the dementia residents were told that a group of teens were coming in to be with them unexpectedly, they were very excited and went with the flow even though it interrupted their schedule for the day. When we were talking to them about their lives and things that they witnessed throughout their lives they seemed genuinely excited to share their stories and to have people who genuinely wanted to hear them. We heard from their director afterwards that the residents loved having us there and were asking to have us back sometime in the near future. Steffani, Angela, Tessa and I loved going in and talking to them. We heard some amazing stories and some very heart wrenching stories and just genuinely loved hearing their experiences. Steffani and I recruited Angela Fisher and Tessa Hyatt to come with us and to bake cookies. We wanted to keep it fairly small and people that we knew and were comfortable with so working together was easy and there was no obvious tension or unfamiliarity between us that the residents could see. We did not know what to expect when we went into Whitney Place as Monisha did not say explicitly what we would be doing. When we got there we did not have a group as Monisha had stepped out and would not be back for some time. So we were thrown in with a group of dementia patients and their tai chi class. We sat through the class with them and still had a half an hour left so we went back up to their floor and just talked to them for another hour or so. We talked to them about stories of their jobs and their life. We left extremely humbled and had a great time. And we received feedback that the residents loved seeing us as well.

Jake Cohen

This year, for my lead project, I led a handful of exercises at Natick High School involving domestic violence as well as gender stereotypes. It took place on May 23rd. This was through the Game Changers program, and was a pilot for many other trainings to come. I led exercises for parents of the students in the Game Changers program to give them a sense of what we went through to be apart of this program. Our goal was to impact the parents taking part in the trainings/exercises, and I believe we completed that goal. We wanted to give them the ability to know what to do when they see domestic violence or hear about it. The students and myself in Game Changers couldn't have done this without Mr. Hoye, Mr. Harrigan, and the entire Physical Education Department who was there helping us throughout the night. The night was a huge success and I am so happy to have been apart of it and leading the parents through the training.

Olivia Garrahan

For my lead we catered to Rosie's Place in Boston. Rosie's place is a women's shelter that helps women in need get food, clothes, and shelter. I took a group to Rosie's Place and we helped the shelter cook, prepare, and cleanup lunch for the women. We helped serve 160 women! The project went really well as we worked really well with the other volunteers. We actually finished up the cleanup 30 minutes earlier than we were supposed to. We also talked with many of the women in the shelter and learned their stories. It was a really fun, educational experience, and I know I will, along with the rest of the group I brought, will go back and volunteer at Rosie's Place in the future.

Brooke Wong

For my lead, I collected donations for the Baypath Humane Society located in Hopkinton. I was able to collect about $100 worth of goods from the shelter's wish list. I was also able to organize a no- sew blanket making party with other members of National Honors Society. We all got together to make four medium sized blankets for the dogs. Also, everyone who came brought a donation. This project benefited cats and dogs in need, many of which are sick. When visiting the shelter, it made me feel good knowing that the goods will be going to help these animals. Overall it was a great experience and I will definitely be going back to the shelter to help out.

Rebecca DeMarre

For my National Honors Society lead, I tutored an English language learner. Her name is Jessica, she is twenty-five years old and came to the United States three years ago from Brazil. She works as a caretaker and has a nine-year-old son named Iago. I have been tutoring for two years now and it has gotten so much easier over the course of the past year. I feel as if I am more relaxed while teaching, and am better at preparing lessons that cater to my students' needs. Over the course of the past year, Jessica has become a United States citizen and enrolled in community college, two accomplishments that I am so proud to have taken part in. I plan to continue tutoring her over the summer and through next year.

Peter Ryan

For my lead project I led a parent seminar on dating violence with the GameChangers organization. We had about 50 total parents attend and they broke off into groups of 10 to participate in open discussions. The night was a tremendous success and we received great reviews from parents and teachers involved.

Shayla DeGeorge

For my lead, I collected summer essentials for the Boston Sock Exchange.These materials included sunscreen, hats, shirts, shorts, underwear, and socks. I set up two labeled boxes in the churches of my parish, spoke at 3 masses about my project, and have started collecting the items for my project. The collection boxes are already filling up, but I am going to leave them out until the end of June/ beginning of July. I will also sort the items after the collection is complete, and then bring them into Boston to distribute them to the homeless. My youth leader at my church helped me set a time where I spoke at the mass. Overall, my collection has gone very well and will benefit many people who need it.

Ariel Franz

For my lead project, I was the captain of my relay team for Relay for Life and organized my team to raise funds for the event on May 13. I recruited 3 other members and throughout my project, I was responsible for making sure all members of my team were on track. The work we did to fundraise will go to the American Cancer Society, benefiting anyone negatively affected by cancer. This event went very well, with the help of my peers we were able to raise over 500$!

Maggie Cusack

Last weekend I was the captain of my Relay For Life team. The event was held last Saturday, but there was a lot of planning that went into the event. I went to meetings at the American Cancer Society, organized a fundraiser with car wash tickets, made and decorated shirts and a basket, and made sure my team understood the significance of the event and raised at least the required amount of money. At relay I made sure someone from my team was always walking the track. I wanted to be the captain of my relay team because I lost two people very close to me to cancer this past year. The event had a greater significance to me this year, and I wanted to make sure my team realized what the event was truly about. Nicole Segale was my co-captain. She attended a few meetings, and I also got help from the rest of my team, especially with decorating shirts. On the day of Relay for Life it rained, but my team still stayed optimistic and the event was a success.

Patrick Downing

I am very proud of the work we did on my lead project. We raised money for Special Olympics by selling wrist bands, and doing a candy raffle during lunch. One thing that we did well was planning and organizing the event. Also the products themselves were great, and a lot of people loved them and were happy to buy them. Something that we could have improved on is getting the word out for the fundraiser. We could have made more announcements, and maybe a couple signs. Overall through the ten hours of planning and selling it was a great success. Even though we had some flaws the outcome was amazing.

Hannah Lederman

For my lead project, me and the rest of the Game Changer students ran a "parent night" for our parents and parents of the community. This took place on May 23rd at the high school. We were first trained for three Saturday's on healthy relationships, sexual violence/abuse and gender roles. I took what I had learned from doing those activities and used my own experiences to teach our parents about these issues. We had meetings before hand to prepare for the night and plan with our groups what activities we would choose, what we wanted to focus on and what we would say. We were given around 12 parents in our room and we ran ice-breakers, activities and other exercises with them. The project went very well as the parents were able to feel comfortable enough to talk about these issues and the students were able to assist in guiding them through it. It was a very successful night and we got amazing feedback from everyone that was involved! Because of the success we plan on opening the trainings up to the upcoming health classes in the 2017/18 school year!

Anika Bajpai

This year I had the pleasure of helping and organizing part of a community service based youth group that brings together high schoolers from the greater Boston Area. I helped organize a social activity for the whole group in the winter and managed the first meeting of a younger group's, where we brainstormed idea for the next year and activities. We later participated in community service project such as making blankets for Syrian Refugees, writing letters to veterans and hosting a Thanksgiving food drive. Further, I helped develop a series of reforms, which I have begun to put into action, that I hope to continue next year. Overall, I'm glad I got involved in this project, because it has given me a way to learn how to make change, interact with others and make some new friends!

Erin Freitas

For my project I ran a Natick Above the Influence event at the the Natick Community/Senior Center for middle schools. They were able to participate in a video screening with discussion questions to follow about addiction, and substance abuse. I completed this project March 29, 2017. The event was open to all middle schoolers of the Natick community, and I feel it was pretty successful for the middle schoolers to be able to discuss with us and with each other about the content, hopefully bringing their understanding with them for the future. I was assisted by other volunteers from the Natick Above the Influence group from the high school.

Carmen Canino

For my lead project I put together a showcase in the Natick Auditorium that raised money for Natick's Change the World Club. The showcase was called Singing for Starfish and in the showcase students from Natick and outside of Natick performed. There were students who sang, danced and played various instruments as well as speeches given by members of The Change the World Club. Not only did the event raise $800 but the video crew, that is in charge of making a promotional video for the club, got a lot of material as well. Thankfully do the help received from the theater crew we were able put on a very successful show that can hopefully be put together again next year.

Michaela Faris

I co-led a team of 20+ high school juniors participating in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life on May 13th. The planning for relay started in the fall of 2016. Our team, called Up And Running, established a goal of $3000 to be raised for cancer treatment and cancer research. In addition to fundraising by the individual members of the team, I also participated in the coordination and running of a bake sale, at which we raised $900. My co-leadership role, along with Alex Grace, required constant communication with the team members, attendance at meetings sponsored by the American Cancer Society, and set up and tear down of the team’s campsite. I also had to coordinate the creation of a charity basket for the relay auction, as each team was required to donate a basket. All in all, it was a wonderful leadership learning experience for me, and benefited a very good cause.

Sydney Atwood

For my lead project, I decided to organize a group for the Walk for Hunger. I organized a group of about 12 people, including some of my family members and some of my peers from school. On Sunday May 7, 2017, the 20-mile walk began at the Boston Common and made its way through Brookline, Newton and back around. To prepare for the day, I made bandanas with our team name on it and decorated them. Leading up to the day of the walk, we raised over $200. On the day of the event, we got to Boston and began our walk. It went very well. Everyone on the team was motivated and excited to be participating. It was great, spending time with each other all while promoting a good cause. While many people stopped at around mile 7.5, there were about 4 people who powered through the whole 20 miles. With our fundraising and active participation, as a group we were able to promote a cause that effects an alarming amount of people, even within our own areas. In addition to raising awareness, we were able to help out directly with our donations. Our contribution aided the supply of hot meals, fresh produce and other groceries for a number of families in the area. Overall, it was an amazing experience that made our group aware of the realities of hunger in our community, and provided them a platform in which they could directly help the situation.

Luc Mastromatteo

My project ended up be more successful than I expected. We raised $727 for three local charities. I was so proud of all the tremendously hard work that we did to raise money for eight hours. One thing that could have gone better was the fact that we had no way for people to donate via a credit card or donate online. The money raised is going to go to the Natick Service Council, A Place to Turn, and the Disabled American Veterans of Massachusetts.

Jizhen Li

For my lead project, I lead a team with Brian Coco to participate in Relay For Life. Relay For Life was held on May 13, 2017, at the Natick High School track fields. Our team was named Answer for Cancer and together, we have raised well over $1400. I personally raised $102 and we have also raised $63 from the on-site bake sale fundraiser as a team. We were able to reach our goals we’d hope for. All the funds we have raised goes to American Cancer Society as a way to fight against cancer and to cure cancer with cancer research. As a captain of the team, I had to attend the captain’s meetings, give paperwork for all my team members to fill out, collected t-shirts for team members, and planned out the bake sale fundraiser for the day of the event. During the event, each team member took turns to walk on the track as a way to recognize those who has lost their battle through cancer. This event took a lot of preparation for myself and the rest of the team members. Some people I have recruited to help me are Trevor Landurand, Matthew Massa, Jacki Wright, and Makenzie Palmgren. Overall, this project was very successful as all the fundraising we did, brought us closer together as a community to fight against cancer. I am looking forward to doing this again next year and hopefully, the weather will be much nicer then as opposed to this year.

Tyler Sundsted

For my lead project, I helped organize a baseball equipment donation drive for a program called Pitch In For Baseball Natick (PIFB). The organization aims to provide less fortunate children from around the world with new and gently used baseball equipment. To spread the word, I first created and distributed posters to various locations around town. Then, on April 29, I went to Hunnewell Field in South Natick on Little League Opening Day to collect equipment and raise money for shipping. With help from Ethan Weinhaus, I was able to collect equipment donations and raise enough money to ensure the donations would be shipped. Once the baseball equipment came in, I was able to sort through them and clean them to make sure that they were ready to be shipped out. One thing that could have gone better on was setting up the donation table closer to the snack shack, where there are more people. Despite the location not being ideal, the project went very well. As a result of the drive, kids in various countries around the globe will be able to play the game that they love.

Emily Chalfin

For my lead project, I co-lead a Walk for Hunger team with Sydney Atwood. Our team was called "Happy Feet," and we had matching bandanas with penguins on them. The Walk for Hunger is a 20 mile walk through Boston on the first Sunday of May, and it is organized by a non-profit group, Project Bread. Our team was able to finish the entire walk, and we were also able to raise over $100. All of the proceeds from the walk go to food pantries and aid centers in Massachusetts to help local families get access to the food they need. One thing that could have helped us to raise even more money would have been to fundraise outside of local stores, and that is something that we will definitely do next year. This is an extremely beneficial cause, and it is easy for anyone to do!

Tahlia Spiegel

On Saturday April 15th, I helped raise money for the American Cancer Society. I recruited Julia Hopkins, Sophie Assencoa, Evan Walker, Michael Miscia to help make posters a couple nights prior to the event. The posters helped us promote our cause in a more creative and colorful way. That Saturday, Michael, Evan, my sister Rebecca and I stood outside Roche Brother's collecting donations. We raised over $600, and are continuing to find other ways to raise money.

Grace Gibson

For my lead project, I taught a CCD class of fourth graders a lesson that I prepared. The class went quite well! I did a good job driving to my lesson plan, and it was effective, so the kids learned a lot. I think we could have done a little better if the kids stayed on track because they were a little hyper, but I managed to keep the class going nonetheless. I had a great experience and I cannot wait to have my own CCD class next year!

Brigid Whelan

For my lead project, I taught CCD classes for first graders. I had to prepare lessons for the class each week, and keep the class engaged. The first couple weeks of teaching were not easy due to the first graders' tendency to get distracted, but as I got to know the kids, I was able to keep them on task. Throughout the year, I lead the class in completing projects that we would often donate to local senior centers. One week, we wrote letters to veterans and soldiers who are currently away from their families. The lessons proved to be engaging for the class, and I am glad I was able to lead them in their own community service projects at such a young age.

Becca McCue

For my lead project, I created and facilitated the selling of a gift card calendar to raise money for the school sanctioned service trip to West Virginia over April break. I collected gifts cards that people bought donated and received. I then created a calendar for the month of April, where one winner was selected for each day. Once the calendar was created, I gave out calendars to the other people going on the service trip, and we all sold them to friends family, and at our Roche Brothers fund raising table. I collected money, and made sure it got to Ms. Roberson for the trip. We sold about 150 calendars, raising $1500. This money went towards food, transportation and boarding to be able to drive to West Virginia and help many people in need. In West Virginia, we built ramps, cleared brush and painted. Everyone in the West Virginia group helped with this, and Ms. Roberson helped with collecting money. Overall, this fundraiser was very effective.

Abigail Elliot

For my lead project, I designed and led science experiments and explorations during a community event called Parent's Night Out. This event hosts children from kindergarten to fourth grade (ages 5-10) on Saturday nights. I volunteered on Saturday, April 22 at the Cole Center, and was assisted by Sydney Atwood. The goal of the event was to generate interest in science in young children from the Natick community. A few of the projects we did included using electrostatic energy in balloons to manipulate objects, observing the density of different common objects by seeing if they floated or sank, and the most popular activity: using oobleck to explore properties of liquids and solids. The children took very well to the projects, many of whom stayed with us for a few hours. Additionally, a good number of kids asked for instructions to do the projects at home and were raving to their parents about them as they left. The Parents' Night Out Staff was very grateful for our help, and the kids had a lot of fun.

Jane Parven

I did a lead project at the Natick Service Council. My team of Ethan Stone, Dani Schultz, Maggie Cusack, Olivia Garrahan and I worked to sort and organize food and gifts for the holiday season. It was very nice to feel as though we were making a positive impact on our local community, especially during this time of the year. We all enjoyed this experience, and would definitely return to the Service Council again.

Hannah Alich

For my lead project, I gathered a group to volunteer at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter. This group included Alex Grace and other family members. At the shelter, we completed different tasks which included cooking and baking, serving dinner, and doing laundry. The project went very well; at the end, one of the homeless men came up to us and thanked us for all our help. His appreciation assured me that we were truly helping those in need.

Rachel Gordon

For my lead project I gave tours around the school to the class of 2021’s parents. Throughout the process of the tours I answered questions and clarified information that their incoming students had. I did this project with other members of ADL. This event was helpful for the parents of the incoming freshman, gain knowledge about the ins and outs of Natick High School. It also helped to calm their nerves about sending their children off to high school.

Ryan McNeill

The Winter Walk Boston was fantastic. My team was just a small part of over 500 people who came together to raise $100,000 for an amazing cause. After the walk, we listened to speeches from some of the creators of the event, leaders of organizations such as Pine Street Inn or YIIY, and even some of the formerly homeless. Listening to people speak about their struggles made me realize how lucky I am to have the very basic necessities. At the bottom, I have included the URL to a video where people talk about their struggles with everyday life. I am glad to say my team raised almost $400, which was short of our goal of $500. Next year this is an area I can work on improving. This event not only helped the homeless population of Boston, but this event helped me realize how real this issue is. Things that I take advantage of every day are not available to over 7,000 people in Boston alone.

http://winterwalkboston.org/video

Gabi Marcus

For my lead project, I have been mentoring a group of students, mainly underprivileged English Language Learners, at Woodrow Wilson elementary school in Framingham. I meet with my 5 children every Tuesday. During our time together, I play games with them during recess and help them with their homework afterwards. This program helps the children because the mentors teach them new strategies for doing their homework, as well as their parents, because it serves as a free form of childcare. I worked with the program director, a representative from Jewish Family Services, as well as other mentors who were each responsible for their own group of students.

Mikaela Gjoka

For my lead project, I planned and conducted events for the Natick Neptunes Town Swim Team. During the fall and winter seasons (October through March), practices were held in Wayland while meets were held at Framingham. My head coaches and my junior coaches (Christina Mangano, Fiona Benzi, Ellen Kiernan) helped me. I managed practice activities such as running sets, setting up practice relays, and running technique drills. I provided one-on-one support to young swimmers aged 6 to 14 as needed. At meets, I guided those swimmers to where they were supposed to be and how to better their technique. By the end of the project, the swimmers' swimming abilities improved significantly.

Aaron Krueger

For my lead project, I put together food drives at the High School’s swim banquet as well as at Sound & Spirit’s (a choir from Natick) events leading up to their concerts. The swim team’s food drive was at Natick High, and the choirs food drive was held at the Walnut Hill School in Natick. I collected all of the non-perishable food and other goods and drove it over to the Natick Service Council Vi Tutuny Food Pantry (in downtown Natick). I got help from a couple friends, as well as my family, who helped me to transport the food. Of course, the project couldn’t have been done without the generous people who donated non-perishables. I was really proud of this project because I was able to collect 321 pounds of food and toiletries, all of which will go to the Natick Service Council. It means a lot to me that people brought in such a large amount of non-perishable goods so that people who are less fortunate can have them.

Noel Taylor

For my lead project, I went and volunteered at the SPIN animal shelter with a small group i got together. We organized and cleaned up the basement and garage of the shelter, set up for a yard sale they were having soon, then went inside and took care of the animals. This shelter was a shelter to hold stray cats and also animals of families currently homeless or in abuse shelters, so we benefitted not only the animals and the people running the shelter, but also the families who had to put their pet in SPIN. I was the person who organized this project and am the sole leader, but Ms. Webb, the person I organized with at the shelter, as well as my group (Ellie Baker, Melissa Loftus, Lucie Robert and a few people from other schools) all helped me to complete this project.

Sandra Brown

I am a certified Jiu Jitsu instructor, and I volunteer to teach kids (ages 7-9) Jiu Jitsu once a week for 45 minutes. I teach kids from white belt to brown belt. As I took a year long course to learn how to be an instructor, my service was very beneficial to the kids, as they learned how to safely and sufficiently defend themselves. I completed this lead at the Metrowest Academy of Jiu Jitsu, a place where I am a student and also work. Even though this lead was written to have taken place during the school year, I have been teaching at the Metrowest Academy since 2011, and will continue teaching until I have earned my black belt.

Matt D'Alessandro

I lead a group of 10 students in set up for the rescheduled Holly Speech Tournament Awards Ceremony. This took place in the NHS auditorium and the week prior, I had to make sure everything was in place so that we could have an efficient set up. We strung Christmas lights on the railings, hung up a big banner, adjusted and focused the lighting, cleaned up trash in all the rows and countless other small tasks. During the awards ceremony my team and I went through classrooms to clean them from a days worth of competition. This project impacted not only the Natick Speech community, but the regional speech community who attended the Holly tournament. There is something called "Holly Magic" which is best described as the amazing feeling of walking into the decorated auditorium after a long full day of competition and I was able to lead a team of people to make this a reality.

Noah Skelton & Anika Sharma

For our lead project, on February 2nd we went to the open door program held in St. Paul’s church in Natick, and helped to set up the location, organize other volunteers and serve food. The set up involved removing dining tables and chairs to go throughout the room, and filling jugs of coffee, tea, water, and hot chocolate. Many of the other volunteers were young girl scouts, and we were able to help them out and show them how to serve the guests, what and how to ask them certain questions - such as if they wanted a refill or seconds - and overall, how to be a welcoming host. Our project impacted about thirty elderly locals and allowed them to have a fun night where they could eat and socialize for free. This project went very well, and everyone that showed up to eat left happy.

Dilara Eran

For my lead project, I organized a massive information compiling for diverse books; this project is the first installment of a bigger project to get diverse books into the libraries of three Natick elementary schools. The project took place partially at our high school (after school) and partially in my home. Those who helped me were Becca Demarre, Ariel Franz, Bela Ghosh, Noah Skelton, Aviv Shimoni, Emily Whitten, Sehin Assefa-McNeil, and Osher Shimoni. Together, we researched and created a list of over 100 books, which we then filtered through a library-website and condensed to 60 titles. The students of Ben-Hem, Johnson, and Lilja elementary schools benefitted/are benefitting from our project, because we are currently in the process of gathering all the books to be distributed to the schools with the help of Ms. Bloom, the Wilson Middle School librarian.

Allie Maltzman

For my lead project myself and a friend of mine led a 6 week jiu jitsu program called BLOCKS. This program took place at Juniper Hill Elementary School in Framingham. Each Friday my friend and I taught 11 3-5 year olds jiu jitsu. We focused on 8 specific topics: focus, balance, control, discipline, memory, fitness, coordination, and teamwork. Each Friday we would conduct different drills, exercises, games, and activities that connected to the topic of the week. This program benefitted the children because it gave them another activity to do after school and another way to find activities that they enjoy doing. It gave the children a quick introduction to jiu jitsu and it allowed them to acquire a new skill. This program also benefits the parents because they have a form of childcare and they can trust that their children have a fun activity to participate in after they are done. The children are also getting in fitness and exercise. My friend, Emily helped co-run the program with me. It was especially helpful to have two people working together due to the young age of the kids. Overall, I feel the program was a success because the children told us they enjoyed jiu jitsu and they showed improvement in focus and discipline throughout the 6 weeks.

Caroline Hinrichs

I led a clean-up of the Natick Service Council Kids Corner on April 18th. The Natick Service council is a social services center that includes a food pantry, and counseling for financial matters, nutrition, career services, and general crises. The Kids Corner is a waiting area for kids to play in while their parents are meeting with counselors, but during my time volunteering at the NSC, I noticed that the area was cluttered, dirty, and unsafe for young children. To tackle this problem, I communicated with the Natick Service Council to create a list of most needed items for the Kids Corner, including storage units and toys. I collected donations, cleaned the toys and furniture, and directed a team of 3 other students to organize and clean the area over April Vacation. With the help of Carrie Sweeney, Anika Bajpai, and Sam Hinrichs, the kids waiting area went from a messy and unusable place to a welcoming corner that would entertain kids while their parents receive helpful services. I’m very glad that we were able to help out the Natick Service Council and their clients.

Dar Bejerano

For my lead project, I lead 26 freshmen in Israeli Scouts in organizing and running a 4K run for the community, with all profits made put to benefit children in the Foster Care System. The freshmen worked in groups including planning the course, designing a water bottle, finding sponsors, advertising, and organizing a bake sale. They advertised through social media, found sponsors such as Panera to donate food for the finish line, set up a registration website, and baked goods for the bake sale. The community enjoyed the run which took place at Jamaica Pond in Newton on April 2nd, and raised more than $3000. This money went to an organization called TogetherWeRise, which sent back one duffle bag for every $25 donated, for us to decorate. After we decorated the bags, we sent them back and the organization filled them with essentials and goodies for the children such as coloring books, teddy bears, toothbrushes, and markers. Additionally, we donated all the left over food we had from the event to Rosie's Place, a women's shelter in Boston. My two co-counselors helped me lead the freshmen in organizing this event; which benefitted all of us (counselors and freshmen) in teaching us about leadership and event planning, the community in enjoying a fun run, foster kids in raising awareness and providing goods, and homeless women with a large food donation. Overall, I was amazed by the ability of this group - we got together and made a difference.

Rachel Schultze

For my lead project, I organized a craft class at the Natick Senior Center. I had many meetings with workers at the Senior Center describing what I wanted to do, and spent hours scouring the internet for Senior-friendly DIY crafts. I had to sell my idea to the Senior Center and had to find a room and time that would work for me. I then had to make prototypes for each craft and organize with the Senior Center what supplies I needed. I showed up the day of my first class, set everything up and then no one showed up. I learned the valuable lesson to not hold a class on the first gorgeous weather day of the year.

Matthew D'Alessandro

I lead a group of 10 students in set up for the rescheduled Holly Speech Tournament Awards Ceremony. This took place in the NHS auditorium and the week prior, I had to make sure everything was in place so that we could have an efficient set up. We strung Christmas lights on the railings, hung up a big banner, adjusted and focused the lighting, cleaned up trash in all the rows and countless other small tasks. During the awards ceremony my team and I went through classrooms to clean them from a days worth of competition. This project impacted not only the Natick Speech community, but the regional speech community who attended the Holly tournament. There is something called "Holly Magic" which is best described as the amazing feeling of walking into the decorated auditorium after a long full day of competition and I was able to lead a team of people to make this a reality.