In many communities, looking out for one another is a common value. Schools, sports, and jobs are all examples of how people unite. Miami Palmetto Senior High’s Interact Club worked to help out fellow students by assisting with a food pantry for those in need. Interact Club was created to encourage students to gain community service hours and volunteer experience. The club has also asked MPSH students to participate in their efforts by donating whatever they can for the food pantry.
“It gives students as many opportunities as they can to give back to the community,” sophomore and Panther Food Pantry founder Jake Lazar said.
The pantry is just one example of how Panthers can show their support.
“It’s called the Panther Pantry, and it’s in Mrs. Garces’ office. There’s many kids at Palmetto, in our own school community, that struggle to have food at home or at all and the Panther Pantry provides food for them,” Lazar said.
To donate, parents and students can access the Amazon wish list.
“When food is purchased from our Amazon wishlist, it is shipped to our house, and we deliver it to Mrs. Garces,” Lazar said.
Communities have found it incredibly important to express support for one another. Oftentimes, these actions are slipped beneath the surface and taken for granted. The Panther Pantry was inspired by another high school with the right intentions.
“South Ridge has one too, so we wanted to implement one into our own school and hopefully have the same impact on our school that they had on theirs,” Lazar said.
Lazar explained that they have not stopped there and are planning on getting other clubs to contribute.
“Next year, we’re going to try to pair up with clubs, so that once a month, each club learns what we do and people will bring food to the club meeting. This is so that we have a constant flow of food to the pantry,” Lazar said.
Inside Mrs. Garces’ office, there’s snacks, cereals, powdered milk and many more of the donations that the club was grateful to accept. These selfless actions have made such an impact on MPSH and will continue to change the game for other schools and communities.