Looking back to the end of the last school year and our annual Community Volunteer Day, nearly 300 students and 40 teachers were out in the community supporting 25 different local organizations. It's an incredible experience that's making a positive difference for so many. We're learning that this day is a spark for many of these young people who are going on to continue with volunteer work on their own. Our thanks to Superintendent Glass for recognizing this event at Graduation ceremonies and speaking about the importance of service. This school year's Community Volunteer Day is scheduled for May 21, 2025 and will include the largest class of volunteers we've had to date.
One interesting note -- over the past two years through our partnership with the American Red Cross, we have trained roughly 50 students and teachers in CPR and First Aid. This means that on average, we now have at least one person trained in these important areas in nearly every classroom. Though never our stated intention, through the spreading of volunteerism we are making our school safer at the same time.
This summer we learned a lot more about The Mount Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry. So many of our students rely on school-provided meals over the course of the year. Unfortunately over the summer when school is not in session, the source of these meals vanishes. It's a heartbreaking and preventable situation. The Pantry's School's Out Supplement (SOS) program is squarely focused on this issue and provides local children with lunch items while schools are closed. We are happy to partner with the SOS program and have helped to distribute healthy, kid-friendly foods to over 500 children each week to combat summer hunger.
It's so important that our youngest students begin the school year ready to learn with the school supplies they need. We were thrilled to join with two of our long-standing partners - Neighbors Link and the Community Center of Northern Westchester - to help support their Backpack and School Supplies drives respectively. Together, we were able to ensure they each reached 100% of their goal and provided needed supplies to hundreds of students.
Suzanne was a Board member of Rewarding Potential Scholarship – a community-funded effort that helps Fox Lane High School students overcome financial barriers and realize their dream of attending college. RPS puts college within reach by providing financial and mentoring support and changes the trajectory of the lives of these students and their families. We’re honored to continue to support RPS both financially and through mentoring, and we applaud the amazing work that they do.
You might remember Jacey - our wonderful facility dog who is at West Patent Elementary School every day, along with some occasional visits to other schools. Jacey is an absolute treasure for our kids, our staff and our community. Naturally Jacey requires regular veterinary visits and routine care. Your support is providing for this and she is worth every penny!
May 20th was the 3rd annual Fox Lane Community Volunteer Day. This year, over 300 students were out in our community learning about the importance of volunteerism and serving 30+ local organizations. This is an incredible program which simultaneously teaches our students about community service and helps so many local organizations with important projects. It was a wonderful day of learning and volunteering, bringing together our schools and our community - just like Suzanne did.
Earlier this year, we were thrilled to help with the creation of an ongoing Theater program at the elementary school level. Mount Kisco Elementary School began this new era with performances of “Aladdin” in a dual language format. We were the first elementary school in the country to perform it and it was an amazing experience! West Patent Elementary School followed in March with equally incredible performances of “Honk” (The Ugly Duckling story).
Our annual Benefit Concert in The Suzanne Grant Theater in November was a huge success. A red carpet welcomed guests and a packed house got to witness the phenomenal talents of our staff and students. It really is a highlight of the year.