HCI Partners with WINGS to Support Northfield High School Service Learning Class Projects

In a cooperative initiative, the Northfield Healthy Community Initiative (HCI), with financial support from WINGS (Women In Northfield Giving Support), agreed to fund six mini-grants to aid service projects developed by students at Northfield High School.  All students are enrolled in Sarah Swan-McDonald’s Service Learning Class, which concludes its semester with group service projects designed by the students.

Bullying prevention was a major theme that the students wanted to address with this year’s projects.  Funded projects included:

• Bullying Prevention.  Ashleigh Cimino, Leah Grisim, and Mathilde Mortensen have designed a project to help prevent bullying at Greenvale Park Elementary School.  This group plans to engage the elementary students through activities and art projects to promote respectful behavior among students.

• 5th Grade Self-Esteem Building & Bullying Awareness.  This project, designed by Annie Pumper, Karrah Nelson, Alissa Bussard, and Jillian King, will take place at Bridgewater Elementary School.  The group will discuss bullying awareness and prevention, as well as promoting self-esteem, with Bridgewater 5th graders.

• Bullying Awareness in the Middle School.  Designed by Rachel Marosi, Amber Brezina, Cassidy Hanzlik, Elia Read, Tasha Wang, Oliver Swanson, and Katie Moors, this project focuses on bullying awareness through activities with Northfield Middle School students.

• Kayla Amy, Katie Stadler, Adam Akida, and Jessica Holmes for Animal Cruelty Prevention.  This group of students is raising funds for a local foster-based animal rescue center, while also creating local awareness about animal abuse and neglect.

• Jen Route, Jami DeRop, and Anna Huber for the Adult Bullying project.  These students will promote good sportsmanship among parents and adults through efforts at high school sporting events.

• Human Trafficking Campaign.  Designed by Mitzi Calvario, Juan Carlos Hernandez, Leslie Nieves, and Olivia Woods, this is a project to create awareness about the issue of human trafficking and slavery.  The students are also planning a fundraiser to benefit a Minnesota-based organization that aids victims of human trafficking.

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This marks the second year of collaboration between HCI and WINGS in supporting Northfield High School service learning students in the design of projects.  Funding from WINGS is matched by HCI to help provide seed money for the students to turn their class project ideas into reality.

Community members are invited to attend an open house hosted by the service learning students on Wednesday, January 11, 2012, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the Northfield High School lower cafeteria.  Come and learn about the students’ projects and have the chance to ask them questions.  The event is free and open to the public.

For more information on HCI’s mini-grants program, please visit www.northfieldhci.org/mini-grants.