Earlier this month, NASSP announced the recipients of its first-ever Student Service Grants, which are part of a new national initiative to empower student leaders to create and lead service projects that address community needs. Funded by The Allstate Foundation, $141,000 in grants were awarded to 177 youth-led projects across the country, with grants ranging from $200 to $1,000.
“The Allstate Foundation believes that empowering youth to lead service is key to improving our communities and creating lasting change. These grants catalyze youth service opportunities by increasing access, deepening quality and putting dollars behind young people’s innovative and transformational ideas about how to strengthen their communities,” says Greg Weatherford II, director of The Allstate Foundation and Social Impact.
Among the high school grant recipients is Kayah De La Cruz, a senior at James Madison High School in Brooklyn, NY. “The Plating Project: Making Nutrition Culturally Inclusive, Accessible, and Fun,” as the name of her project implies, aims to educate her fellow students about the importance of good nutrition but not in a dry, academic way. The project is part of her nonprofit Nourish&Flourish.
“I don’t want it to be like those boring health education lessons where I lecture students about eating salads and about running 10 miles a day. That makes health unapproachable and very boring,” De La Cruz says. “Instead, we engage students in conversations that make them think about their nutrition and then we give them hands-on opportunities to actually craft their own meals. The fact that we represent different cultures with each of our events, I think brings students in and gets them more interested.”
She explains that a beginner lesson, for example, might involve making whole-wheat flatbread, where students learn how to knead, portion, and roll out dough and then add their choices of fillings—like hummus, avocado, tomato, lettuce, and chicken—after learning about the various food groups involved, their cultural importance, and nutritional value.
“I’ve been working on this ever since I started realizing that students don’t know much about nutrition, even though it really is the bedrock of good health,” De La Cruz says. “Your well-being stems from what you eat. With our hectic lifestyles, many students either don’t realize or overlook how their food choices can influence their health for decades to come.”
Among the middle school grant recipients is Khloe Ozuna, an eighth grader at Ricardo Middle School in Kingsville, TX, for her submission titled, “Outdoor Education Legacy Project.” “I decided to apply for it because I really want to make a difference in our school and be able to benefit our students and staff,” she says.
The grant involves taking an existing empty outdoor space at her school and transforming it into an area where students can sit at picnic tables to do classwork, read and relax in hammocks, and enjoy the outdoors on a nice day. “It will be really beneficial because I know it can be really stressful being in class all day, so I want to take some of that stress away,” she says.
It would be great if teachers could bring their classes outside for some peaceful free time or independent work, Ozuna adds. “Providing an outdoor educational area is not only beneficial to the mental health of our students but I think it can also boost creativity and help students focus. It can also provide a positive impact on students who may not always have the most positive learning experiences.”
Both students received $1,000 grants and are excited about the opportunity to leave behind a legacy as they move on to their next level of education. De La Cruz not only wants to expand the program to local middle schools but also hopes to create something similar wherever she ends up going to college in the fall. “I’m really grateful for NHS and for this opportunity. This project is something that is only going to continue to grow.”
Ozuna calls Ricardo Middle School “an amazing school” and is sad to be leaving. “The eighth graders really are like the seniors of the school. I just want to give back to my school for everything they’ve done for me and for my education.”
The NASSP Student Service Grants were open to students aged 13–18 who are current members of NJHS, NHS, or NASC in schools with an active student program membership through NASSP.