projects and programs

Shoe Drive - Every autumn, shoes, boots, and sneakers in new or excellent condition are collected for redistribution. There is a special need for baby, toddler and children’s shoes as well as men’s shoes. This drive is held in cooperation with seven podiatrists across the state, who collect the shoes, sanitize them, and then redistribute them to local shelters and thrift shops.

Halloween Canvassing – Instead of trick-or-treating for tasty treats, SCN members go door to door and canvass their neighborhoods to help our Family Fund.

Thanksgiving Food Box Project - Held every November, SCN collects specific food items to be included in a food box, which represents an entire Thanksgiving Day meal. We simultaneously run a Turkey Drive. Many supermarkets offer free turkeys to patrons who spend a specified amount of money by a certain date. Members of the community are asked to redeem the coupon they receive from the supermarket and donate the turkey to SCN (but only if you don’t need the turkey yourself!!).

Kettle Drive - Students schoolwide are invited to volunteer for a two hour shift to “stand the Kettle” for the Salvation Army. “Bell Ringers” are a familiar site for holiday shoppers. SCN has partnered with the Salvation Army since 1998 to help them raise funds that help the local community.

Caroling for the Tiny Tim Fund - Teams of student volunteers participate in the Tiny Tim Fund’s annual fundraiser. Teams are assigned a specific route and sing Holiday carols while canvassing door to door. The Tiny Tim Fund helps residents of Scotch Plains and Fanwood.

Candy Gram Sale – Implemented in 1994, this project has become a tradition at SPFHS. SCN members sell Candy Grams, a personalized message written by students and staff to their friends and colleagues which we attach to a candy cane and deliver just in time for the Holidays! Proceeds go to sponsoring needy children and providing them with holiday gifts.

Christmas Food Drive - Implemented in 1992, a school wide food drive is held every December. This project is run as a competition between all the homerooms in the school. The homeroom that turns in the most boxed and canned food items wins the competition and receives a free breakfast, compliments of SCN. The items donated are distributed through Union County Social Services and Heart for Humanity to local residents in need. Click here for a list of items that are most needed.

Project Angel Tree - Faculty, staff and students are invited every December to adopt a child for the Holidays and supply them with the Christmas presents they would otherwise not receive. Clubs and organizations and even individual classes or homerooms are encouraged to adopt a child as a group.

Famine Day - Implemented in 1995, students obtain sponsors, educate the student body and family members about the world wide hunger crisis, and go without food for up to thirty hours while they personally gain empathy for what millions of hungry people experience each day of their lives. On average, SCN raises over $1000.00 annually for World Vision in this worldwide event that includes participants from 21 countries. This event is held in late winter or early spring.

Hunger Banquet – Every several years, SCN tackles a Hunger Banquet. Students, staff and community members are personally invited to a free dinner, compliments of SCN. However, the banquet illustrates how the world eats on an average day. Diners receive a ticket which represents one of three groups: the upper class, the middle and the lower classes. They redeem their ticket for a meal which represents their class. It is an interesting evening as participants see first hand how the overall population of the world eats. A keynote speaker from a local charity shares war stories concerning the battle against local hunger and encourages community involvement. Since the dinner is “free,” participants are given the opportunity to make a donation at the end of the evening which is directed to the charity of the keynote speaker.

Walk for Local Hunger - Students are invited to collaborate with the Coalition for Hunger Awareness in their annual Walk-a-thon in May which raises money for local charities in Union County.

Easter Basket Project - Baskets are purchased, decorated, and filled with school supplies, hygiene items, food items and candy for local children who otherwise would not enjoy an Easter Basket.

May Drive – This project got its name from the simple fact that calling it The Hygiene Item and Baby Product Drive was a bit long and didn’t fit on fliers very well!! Since we conduct this biannual event in May, it was a lot simpler to name it the May Drive!! Baby products and hygiene items are always in demand and we can’t seem to get enough of them. Thus, the May Drive!!

Feeding the Homeless - Student volunteers have two weekly opportunities to make sandwiches for the homeless. We travel to the Yes, We Care Soup Kitchen at Zion Lutheran Church in Clarke on Monday nights at 6:15 and on Tuesday, students carpool or meet at 5:30 at Temple Emmanuel in Westfield. The sandwiches that are made are given out to the homeless in New York City and Elizabeth.

Fundraising - Ongoing support is raised through a variety of fundraisers, including morning bagel and muffin sales, baked good sales and after school pizza sales. We conduct “Dollar Day” throughout the school year, a school wide canvassing drive which asks each student and staff member to contribute one dollar which is donated to local charities or a specific cause as a need arises.

Disaster Relief - Projects are put in place on a “needs” basis. Past projects include conducting fundraisers and donation drives for earthquake, flood and hurricane victims. Most recently SCN raised close to $2000 for the Tsunami victims in southeast Asia (2004).

Disaster Relief Courses and Certification class have been offered through the American Red Cross. Students may become “certified volunteers” through participation in a variety of Red Cross classes that are offered after school at the high school.

Family Fund - is ongoing fundraising whose funds are dedicated to helping local residents who experience a personal tragedy. SCN has been able to help residents who lost their homes due to fire or flood, families who experienced the loss of a parent, and families who experienced the major breadwinner losing a job.

“The Network” - Knowing that many students have parents, relatives, friends and neighbors who work for companies and corporations, we solicit large scale donations (either products or monetary) for redistribution through local charities. We invite anyone who has a contact with food, hygiene, or paper product manufactures to become partners with SCN in providing tax-deductible donations. Please contact us for more information.

You are invited to join or help SCN at any time of the school year.