Cornerstone Christian School Sends 10,000 Meals To The Hungry

MANCHESTER, CT — At least 8,500 meals will soon arrive at orphanages and schools in Haiti and another 1,500 at regional food programs as part of the "Feed the Need" initiative at the Cornerstone Christian School in Manchester.

The 10,000 meals were prepared and packed at the school Tuesday by CSS students and staff members.

In addition to Haiti, meals will be shipped to local food banks that include The Street Church Army in Hartford and The Bridge in South Windsor.

Over the course of the past month, students and families have raised more than $68,000 for two main reasons — to feed the less fortunate and to "sustain the school through the difficulties and challenges of keeping the school open by bridging the financial gap between actual costs and tuition."

The program is "purposefully and perfectly timed with the giving season" and is part of the school's "foundational core and dedication to serving others and students have been hungry to help."

Feed the Need kicked off with a chili dinner on Oct. 12, and an initial goal of $45,000 was set. That goal was quickly met and surpassed and a revised goal of $65,000 also reached.

To insert "joy" into the program, four levels of fun were created and "unlocked" along the way. For each level, staff members did hilarious and fun "performances," including eating crickets and habanero peppers, having a sumo wrestling match, being made into a human sundae, getting slimed and silly stringed, getting duct taped to the playscape, dressing up as Tweety Bird while doing the chicken dance, and performing Tik-Tok-style dances.

Weekly school spirit days were also staged like sweats and slippers day.

When 100 percent of the goal was reached, Head of School Tonya Snyder even baked every student an apple pie.

CCS embraced the program to "help students understand they can make a difference and show love in practical ways in our tumultuous world," she said.

Service to others is a "cornerstone principle" at the educational institution, so CCS sets aside two-to-three opportunities each school year to engage in service projects.

"It is our highest aim to empower our students to be actively and compassionately engaged in making a positive impact in the lives of others in our community and around the world," Snyder said. "That's precisely why we exist as a school."

"Service Partners" is a school-wide program that pairs older students (grades 6 through 12) with younger partners (grades K through 5) for the purpose of building community, mentorship, and leadership among the students. Each semester students work on ways to help others within the community while learning from one another.

"Feed the Need" is a perfect fit for the program and is beneficial to all involved. The hungry get fed, while students develop compassion, leadership and serving hearts — something we need more of in this world of turmoil," Snyder said.

Cornerstone Christian School is an accredited Pre-K through Grade 12 school, founded in 1981 in Manchester.