Ridgefield Academy Students Participate in YSOP'S Workcamp Program to Help Homeless and Hungry

Ridgefield Academy has a long-standing relationship with Youth Service Opportunities Project(YSOP) and every year, a group of grade 7 and 8 students participate in YSOP’s Overnight Workcamp program – a 24-hour experience helping people who are hungry and homeless.

During the last school year, over 3,000 high school and college students and adults took part in YSOP programs, providing vital services to more than 374,000 hungry and homeless people in New York City and Washington, DC. This year, as part of RA’s Service Learning Program, 25 students signed up and ventured to New York City together to serve people in need in various settings. The goal? To focus their attention on service to others.

Once in the city, RA students got right to work. After being given an overview of YSOP and who they help, it was then divided and conquer time! Kitchen tasks were assigned and RA students worked together to prepare, cook, serve and share an evening meal with guests from a city women’s shelter. Students were not only amazing cooks that evening but welcoming and engaging hosts and made sure each guest felt at home and entertained.

After dinner, students listened to a representative from NYC Social Services about different situations that may cause a person to become homeless and some of the struggles they have to overcome. 

Service continued the following morning and students were split into four different groups to help serve at four organizations throughout the city: 

  • Finca del Sur is an urban farm where the group cleaned, picked up litter and spread mulch.
  • At Caldwell Temple, the group split up and completed different tasks such as made approximately 200 sandwiches for homeless or food insecure people, organized donated clothing, and cleaned and weeded the garden.
  • The group assigned to Manhattan Church of Christ prepared and shared a hot meal with the guests who visit on the church weekend.
  • At Creston Avenue Baptist Church, our student volunteers prepared, bagged and distributed over 200 bagged lunches for guests that day.

The experience came to a close by all participants standing in a circle, describing their own personal experience using only one word. Some of the words used from RA students were: thoughtful, grateful, bonding, amazed, lucky, service, community, together, motivation, happiness, perspective, teamwork, fun, satisfied and proud. Experiences like this further help RA students to value the importance of giving back, despite the circumstances, to people and communities in need. The lesson of giving of oneself to benefit someone else is a tremendous lesson indeed.

For more information on YSOP and the amazing work they do for others in need, please click here.

Established in 1975, Ridgefield Academy is a Preschool-Grade 8 private day school located in Ridgefield, Conn. serving students from Fairfield and Westchester counties. Ridgefield Academy is located at 223 West Mountain Road in Ridgefield, Conn. 203.894.1800.

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Submitted by Lewisboro, NY

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