Posted on ErieTVNews.com by Justin Carter, January 28, 2015
MILLCREEK– It started with an email. McDowell Intermediate High School teacher Jason Markiewicz decided it was time to spice up his students’ mandatory service project.
“People always think about world hunger issues but don’t always think about what’s happening even in the school,” Markiewicz says. “There might be some people going through hunger issues, [someone] even sitting in the class next to them.”
That is why “Lead2Feed” stuck out so much. It’s a nationwide service learning program where students take action to solve real life hunger issues in their communities.
“I think once kids researched and found how many children in Erie County suffer from hunger, that really opened their eyes,” Markiewicz adds.
“We collected about 275 food items just from our group,” says student volunteer Madeline Cacchione. “There were also other groups in our same class.”
The response was overwhelming. Their teachers, fellow classmates and neighbors donated what they could for the cause. It benefits the Second Harvest Food Bank.
“I didn’t know I could make a big change for being a 9th grader in the Erie community,” student volunteer Ryan Zimmerman says.
In a 9-week period, students managed to gather $15,000 worth of food.
As a reward, “Lead2Feed” gave the school $5,000 for their efforts. They’ll use the money to buy the school’s first fleet of iPad’s.
“With iMovie and different products that are on there, it’ll allow them to be more creative with their classes,” Markiewicz says.
In April, McDowell’s project will move go before special judges. If they win, they’ll be awarded with an additional $20,000 and another $25,000 for the Second Harvest Food Bank.