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PEEKSKILL, N.Y. – The Peekskill High School Interact Club accepted a $1,000 check for the local Salvation Army Soup Kitchen as part of this year’s MSG Varsity/Cablevision Charity Champions contest.
Saturday’s event took place at the Peekskill Salvation Army Soup Kitchen, where Peekskill Mayor Mary Foster recognized the students for their dedication to the charity and student adviser Allison Risoli spoke about the school’s involvement.
The students have been volunteering at the soup kitchen for the past 10 years. Along with fundraising, they hold food drives for the food pantry and participate in the annual holiday bell ringing. A check for $1,000 was presented to the Rev. Shaka Watch, who thanked both the students and MSG Varsity/Power to Learn.
“More and more people and families struggle with hunger every day,” Foster said. “Thanks to programs such as this, families, seniors, veterans and others in need are given healthy meals to sustain them. I believe that each of these dedicated students here today is making a significant contribution to society by positively impacting the lives of so many.”
As part of its efforts to win the contest, the Interact Club is accepting nonperishable food donations for its “Stuff a Truck” event. People may drop off items at any of the Peekskill schools throughout February. The goods will be used to fill the back of a pickup truck and will be delivered to local recipients.
“We are so excited to have received donations from MSG Varsity and Cablevision to help us with our food drive and are even more excited to be able to give $1,000 to the Salvation Army,” said Risoli, the Interact Club adviser. “It helps to ensure that the Salvation Army won’t have to turn people away in these hard economic times.”
The Charity Champions program promotes volunteerism and helps to raise money for a school-selected charity. Students commit time and effort to raising money, competing against other schools and contributing the funds raised.
A grand-prize winner from participating schools in each of the six tri-state regions that Cablevision serves will be selected in the spring and awarded $5,000 for its chosen charity. The Peekskill club is in the running for the contest's $5,000 grand prize.
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