CLARKSBURG, WV — A Harrison County Key Club is asking for the community’s help in an online contest for grant funding.
BHS Key Club members box up Thanksgiving meals for the needy last year through the Backpack Ministry, Shepherd’s Corner and the Clarksburg Mission. From left are Megan Rinker, Hannah Povroznik, Joplin Kehrer, Madewa Adeniyi, Grant Duvall and Ben Fredi, a BHS foreign exchange student.
The
Bridgeport High School Key Club kicked off the “Boxing it Up to Give Thanks” program in November 2017 to provide boxes of Thanksgiving food to Harrison County families in need.
Bridgeport High School sophomore Hannah Povroznik, who chaired the project last year, hopes to expand the program to include more Harrison County high school Key Clubs, and believes a grant from Nickelodeon would help achieve this goal.
In a partnership with Key Club International,
Nickelodeon's HALO Movement is offering up to $2,500 in grant funding for Key Club service projects.
Key Club member Hannah Povroznik collects donations at a BHS football game during last year’s “Boxing It Up to Give Thanks” project to provide Thanksgiving meals to the needy.
Key Clubs from around the world have submitted projects to the competition, and
online voters can vote once every 24 hours until 2:59 a.m. Tuesday 8th May 2018 for their favorite.
The top 10 vote-getters move on to round two, in which a panel of judges will review the entries.
According to Povroznik, who was recently elected lieutenant governor for the Key Club district including the Bridgeport, Robert C. Byrd, Lincoln and Notre Dame high school chapters, the goal is to include more communities in the project next year.
“This year we plan to go through multiple schools on a central theme and service project for the community,” Povroznik told
The Exponent Telegram.
Last year, the Bridgeport club exceeded its community fundraising goal of $3,500 for the inaugural “Boxing it up to Give Thanks” project, raising over $5,000, Povroznik said.
That money was used to create 100 food boxes containing Thanksgiving staples, which were distributed through the
Harrison County Backpack Ministry,
Shepherd’s Corner and the
Clarksburg Mission.
“I think one of the most important things in our community is hunger, because not a lot of people know about that, but it is still prevalent. There are multiple people in our schooling system who have packaged meals that are sent home every weekend, so this would definitely enable us to go further and unite our community,” Povroznik said.
“When Hannah first brought me the idea, I’d never thought about that. I just thought it was a really amazing idea to be able to give food to families who aren’t able to have it, especially on a special holiday like that,” said Bridgeport High School Key Club President Heather Bokey, a junior.
Bokey was involved in fundraising efforts for last year’s program.
“It was such a great experience. It’s so amazing to see all the people you helped, and there’s no greater feeling than helping someone in need,” Bokey said.
Online voting will continue until 2:59 a.m. on Tuesday 8th May 2018. Winners will be announced on or around Tuesday 15th May 2018. To vote, visit
wyng.com/campaign/831769/entry/7562764.
The
Nickelodeon HALO Movement is a new year-round pro-social initiative celebrating kids who are helping and leading others (HALO). Nickelodeon is teaming up with longstanding volunteer partners Key Club and DoSomething.org to mobilize kids to participate in service projects, for the opportunity to receive seed grants or scholarship funds for school.
WeHALO.com provides information on how to participate in the
Nickelodeon HALO Movement and apply for HALO grants through
Key Club and
DoSomething.org.
As part of the
Nickelodeon HALO Movement, Key Club, a student-led volunteer organization sponsored by Kiwanis International, will provide its members with opportunities to participate in service projects that can be submitted for a chance to receive seed grants to further support their cause. DoSomething.org, the largest tech platform for young people and social change, will select monthly scholarship winners who participate in and complete their campaigns.
On
WeHALO.com, the digital hub for the
Nickelodeon HALO Movement, users can submit videos, photos or notes showing how they are helping and leading others, for the opportunity to be featured on the site. WeHALO.com also provides tips and information on ways to get involved in the community and allows users to share their HALO moments using #WeHALO.
The
Nickelodeon HALO Movement builds on the HALO Awards, an annual concert event honoring young community leaders, and
The HALO Effect, the 2016 docu-series that gave viewers an in-depth look into the inspirational stories of teens who are eager to share the issues important to them. The
Nickelodeon HALO Movement is part of
Nickelodeon’s commitment to recognize real kids who are making a difference in the world.
Additional source: 5WDTV.
