Showing their stripes: Small acts of giving have big impact on high school’s first-ever community service day

Holly McGrath Guerrero didn’t know when she went food shopping yesterday afternoon that she would run into a group of ninth graders collecting donations for their school’s food pantry, named after her late husband, Ramon.

The chance encounter on the first day of a new Northport High School community service initiative highlighted the feeling of interconnectedness often embedded in acts of generosity.

“Isn't it funny that I just happened to stop by Stop & Shop today?” Guerrero told the Journal. “It was a really sweet moment for me as we are coming up on the five-year anniversary of losing Ramon.”

Ramon Guerrero, the official videographer and membership chair for the Northport Marching Band Booster Club, died suddenly in November 2018.

The students at the Stop & Shop on Fort Salonga Road were just one of 16 groups stationed at locations throughout Long Island on November 1; all donations collected at the Northport supermarket went directly to Ramon’s Place Food Pantry.

After speaking with the ninth graders, Holly Guerrero donated groceries and gift cards to their efforts; the students not only staffed a table to collect donations but used the cards and other monetary donations to walk the store themselves, purchasing much-needed items for the pantry.

“I just love that the kids were so engaged!” Guerrero said. “I saw a bunch of people, including students walking around the store with the item list in their hands. It felt like the kids were really making a difference and who doesn't love that?”

It was a poignant start to the high school’s month of gratitude, during which all students are asked to “show their stripes” and participate in acts of service. Each grade level has a designated day throughout November for giving back to the community – freshmen were the first to take part in the initiative.

The program kicked off yesterday, with an assembly at the high school. When addressing the students at the start of the event, Principal Robert Dennis spoke about how even small acts of giving and kindness can have a big impact on the community and the world. “What you do today, you might not think is large and heroic in nature, but the way that you will make people feel, the conversations that hopefully you’ll have with one another and with people you meet at the different sites you’re going to, I hope that you not only have an impact on those people, but that experience has an impact on you,” he said.

At a board of education meeting in October, Dennis explained how the “Show Your STRIPES” initiative came into being. Inspired by conversations with the school’s Students for 60,000 (SF60K) club, who practice philanthropic and community-minded activities throughout the year, Dennis – along with a group of high schoolers and staff – brainstormed how they could make events like those happening in Africa and West Virginia with SF60K accessible to the entire student body.

“And we asked ourselves, ‘How can we replicate that idea of service and giving back to others?’” Dennis said. They determined that a philanthropic day in which students could be heroes to their local community would help students explore ways to practice altruism.

Last month, students pondered the question “How can I be a hero” in English classes and more recently in social studies classes, discussed the topic again. They then listed their top three choices of community service activities and were given volunteer assignments that, for the freshman, included opportunities such as a beach clean-up at Crab Meadow, working with students in the district elementary schools, spending time with residents at the Atria Senior Living Center, collecting food donations for multiple pantries, and even the training in and assembling of Narcan kits as part of Northwell Health’s Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) program.

“It is truly a tremendous undertaking, from the transportation department, to the central office, to everybody at the high school who has been supporting us,” Dennis said at the board meeting. “I’m really, really excited about what it can mean to our local community.”

At yesterday’s morning assembly, students heard from the families of former NHS students Louis Acompora, who lost his life after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest during his first high school lacrosse game, and Chris Scherer, who was killed while serving his country in Iraq. Both Karen Acompora and Janet and Timothy Scherer spoke about how their children’s legacies live on through their work and the ways that their children have become heroes for the community.

Following the assembly, students gathered with their peers and chaperones before heading to their chosen service locations. Kim Gucciardo and Connie Teiner, special education teachers and two of 125 teacher advisors involved in the program, both have children in the district and are grateful they’ll be able to take part in the program one day. They told the Journal how nice it was to witness not only the spirit of the kids at Stop & Shop, but that of the community as well.

“It’s been really nice to see how generous the community has been,” Gucciardo said. “I think this is a really great thing to encourage in our school community and also in the community at large.”

One woman, shopping with her husband, returned from her car and gave the kids $250 worth of organic baby formula that she was going to donate elsewhere, the teachers shared. “She gave it to us… it’s invaluable – a gift,” said Gucciardo.

Students in grades 10, 11 and 12 will participate in their community service days on dates throughout the month. At the end of their volunteer work, which lasts from 10am-1pm, students meet back at the high school to participate in reflection circles to discuss how the day has impacted them, and how they could be “heroes” in their lives going forward.