The National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) is proud to recognize the following recipients of the 2016 Outstanding Service Project awards.

Academy of Saint Paul

Ramsey, NJ
Recess Counselor Service Project
Adviser: Christine Gysin

Abstract: The Academy of Saint Paul Chapter of NJHS has made a mission to help others through service, citizenship, and leadership. Serving as Recess Counselors, provides a valuable service to the students and teachers of the lower grades. The success of the project is evident in the testimonies of the younger grade teachers and the reduction in incidents to the nurse’s office from the previous year. By identifying a problem and applying critical thinking skills with kindness and compassion, they provided a valuable service to the school community and are prepared to extend their skills to the greater community.

All Saints Academy

Parsippany, New Jersey
Shoe Drive for Soles 4 Souls Organization
Adviser: Leanne Gonzalez

During a six-week period in 2015, the All Saints Academy NJHS chapter organized an incredibly successful shoe drive benefiting the Soles 4 Souls organization. This organization recycles used shoes for people in need. The members organized and managed this project from start to finish. Students created flyers requesting donations. As the shoes arrived, members sorted, bagged, and stored thousands of shoes. With the generous support of the school family and the community, their small goal of 500 pairs of shoes was surpassed and over 4,000 pairs of shoes were collected.

American School of El Salvador

San Salvador, El Salvador
Movie Premier
Adviser: Agnes Dutriz

The NJHS chapter at the American School of El Salvador has been organizing a project known as the “Movie Premier” for the past seven years, and never has it been such a success. The purpose of this project is to benefit the community and people in the local area. With the money raised, NJHS helps them with beans for families in a rural area, catheters for a cancer center, and rehabilitation materials for a cerebral palsy center. With the help of sponsors, the event was a success, more than 700 people attended, and more than $7,000 were collected.

Gunston Middle School

Arlington, VA
NJHS Food Drive for the Arlington Food Assistance Center
Adviser: Laura Overstreet

The NJHS chapter at Gunston Middle School sponsored and promoted a three-week project that raised awareness in the school about the mission of the Arlington Food Assistance Center. The project started November 16 and ended December 11, 2015. The project supported AFAC in collecting canned and nonperishable foods to help the hungry in our community. In order to get others involved the chapter hosted a competition between homerooms. The homeroom in each grade that brought in the most food won a donut and hot chocolate party, courtesy of NJHS. The goal was to bring the school and community together by collecting food and fulfill a battle against hunger that increased the school’s support of a nonprofit agency.

Lakeview Middle School

Battle Creek, MI
God’s Kitchen Battle Creek Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser
Adviser: Beth A. Rayner

On November 12, 2015, 74 Lakeview Middle School NJHS 8th graders completed a group service project to benefit God’s Kitchen Battle Creek, raising funds for their annual free community pre-Thanksgiving meal. LMS was able to secure $1,000 from hosting a spaghetti dinner fundraiser, with help and donations from their local Sam’s Club and Meijer. The November 23, 2015, dinner was served to 509 food-secure individuals from the local community. A second dinner was served to 175 veterans the following evening. As a “title sponsor,” the NJHS chapter funded approximately one-third of the total cost ($3,200) to produce these meals.