Boyce Middle School Drive Nets 600 Pounds Of Food

UPPER ST. CLAIR, PA — Boyce Middle School recently collected more than 600 pounds of food to benefit families served by the South Hills Interfaith Movement. Organized by Student Council, sixth graders Raegan Faulds and Caty Howard along with fifth graders Abby Burke and Jillian Casey led the community service project.

During a two-week period, each middle school student was asked to donate a cereal and a secondary item. The cereal drive is an annual event at Boyce.

“We started it several years ago and reached out to local shelters,” Justin Gremba, sixth grade math teacher and student council sponsor, said in a district release. “Cereal is a high demand item, so we centered our drive around that.”

Community service projects provide students with valuable opportunities to work in leadership roles and to gain experience organizing a project.

“My hope is that these projects teach the students about the value of teamwork and sticking with a project,” Gremba said. “Projects typically have their issues. I like to see how our students work through the problem to find the solution.”

The interfaith movement has been providing food, clothing and services to people in need in Pittsburgh’s southern suburban neighborhoods for more than 50 years. The organization works to reduce the effects of suburban poverty among the working poor, unemployed, families, single parents, senior citizens, women, and the high concentration of refugee families in its service area.