No matter the grade level, students are thinking about ways to complete those 100 community service hours. Families for Families (F4F) is a DC-based non-profit organization that has a chapter at Jackson-Reed. They organize food drives for underprivileged people in the DC community. They organize efficient and easy food drives that allow students to get community service hours in an impactful and fulfilling way. The club, run by junior Laila Shahida, senior Mason Meyer, junior Rebecca Green, and junior Molly Reeder, organizes food drives two to three times a season. 

F4F has over 32 chapters in schools in the DC area. F4F partners each club with a different nonprofit, that they provide groceries and other necessities to throughout the year. Our Jackson-Reed club is partnered with Horton’s kids. Families for Families, “brings together youth leaders in the fight for food security.”

Horton’s Kids is a charity that Shahida said “empowers children and families in under-resourced communities around DC”. They not only prepare kids for success in high school, but also for success throughout life by prepping them for college or careers through mentorship, skill development, and community partnerships. According to their website, kids they partner with are twice as likely to graduate high school. F4F has provided over 844,000 meals and has more than 3,000 volunteers.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to donate these groceries and we love being able to help out in any way we can,” Reeder explained. They inherited the club because the two seniors last year who ran the club were graduating, and “it would be a great way to get involved with the community.” There are various ways Jackson-Reed students can assist that will earn them service hours. For each drive, they coordinate the drop-offs, set up a table where they, along with volunteers, reorganize groceries into Bags of Basics, and then drive them to Horton’s Kids. Students can help by buying some of the much-needed groceries, helping organize and pack the bags at the drop-off site, or driving the bags to locations. Freshman Luise Schneider volunteered with F4F and said, “You have the option to stay and help out but it can be a quick and easy drop-off.” 

If you are interested in the club, they post information about their drives on their Instagram. According to Shahida, “We encourage everyone to come help out.” Their Instagram is @jrfamilies4families, or you can join their Remind, @wilsonF4F. If you’re in need of community service hours and want to make a positive impact on families in the DMV, , “it’s a really great way to help families in poverty and feel a greater sense of connection to the community” said Reeder. •