For the second year in a row, 80 Portledge Upper School students joined 40 men and women from Day Services to work on inclusive volunteering projects benefiting the Wheatley Farms & Arts Center and local nonprofit organizations. The daylong event took place on March 12 and welcomed Portledge students to activities throughout the campus.
Beginning this day of team work, students were split into four groups to begin projects at workstations in the ballroom, dining room, Wheatley Farms and Arts Center, and greenhouse. All the projects were collaborative and included representation from Day Service sites, including Hicksville, Oceanside, Motts, and Wheatley Farms.
Giving Back to the Community
In the dining room, the first group worked on SunButter and jelly sandwiches for Saint Martin of Tours and Bethpage Food Pantries. The group introduced themselves and got to know each other before receiving instructions from Jerri Walker, Volunteer Coordinator, and Zahava Kugler, who receives Day Services at Wheatley Farms.
Zahava assisted Jerri in running a SunButter-and-jelly-making contest, adding a friendly competition to the activity. Zahava also helped with refills for loaves of bread, SunButter, and jelly.
“I don’t like crowds very much. That’s why I’m helping supervise,” said Zahava. “I’ve done other food pantry work before and want the kids to learn to help other people.”
Simultaneously, in the ballroom, a group worked on snuffle mats, which are made of loops of fabric and serve as a fun activity to keep the animals engaged, for Tender Loving Cats, Hempstead Town Animal Shelter, and Last Hope.
Portledge student Nia Green and Patrick O’Connor from a Farmingdale Day Service were laughing and sharing stories while making their mats.
Adding Charm to the Farm
At Wheatley Farms, two volunteer groups split their time cleaning out the animal stables and weeding the garden by the greenhouse. Among them was Michael Corriero, a proficient gardener who recently joined Wheatley Farms Day Services. He’s been planting flowers for over a decade, growing everything from crocuses, tulips, and daffodils—his favorite. Michael appreciated having the students around tending to the farm, and thought that they were a big help.
The students rotated activities ensuring everyone had a chance to work on the different tasks.
In the early afternoon they returned to the ballroom to work on a reflection form to identify which activity they resonated with the most. By day’s end, the volunteers completed 50 snuffle mats, hundreds of sandwiches, and successfully prepared the farm for springtime activities.
A heartfelt thank you to the volunteers from Portledge Upper School and AHRC Day Services for their dedication and teamwork—showing the impact we can make as a community when we come together.