Hundreds Served at 2017 Students H.O.P.E. Event
Some 1,900 people descended on the Colorado Academy campus today to take part in Students H.O.P.E., a student-run philanthropic effort to provide free clothing, toiletries, holiday gifts, flu shots, eye examinations, children’s books, and school supplies to low-income Denverites. For nearly 25 years, Upper School students at Colorado Academy plan and coordinate the day, raise money to fund the event, and execute every aspect from chartering buses to bring people to campus to recruiting volunteer physicians. In the Dining Hall alone, students served 2,100 chicken breasts, 500 pounds of mashed potatoes, 700 pounds of macaroni and cheese, 260 pounds of green beans, 1200 rolls, and 2,000 slices of pie. This year’s student leaders include three co-presidents, seniors Thomas Messner, Cecilia Needham, and Jessica Brown. For Brown, the hard work and long hours spent planning the event are well worth it; seeing the immediate impact of her efforts is a big draw for her to HOPE. “Sometimes you volunteer and you don’t really see the impact of what you do,” she says. “With HOPE it’s so much more obvious the effect you have on people’s lives.” Adds Needham, who has been volunteering with Students H.O.P.E. since her freshman year, “It’s pretty amazing that we can pull an event this big off with students only. To see the look on the faces of everyone who attends – the volunteers and the attendees – that’s what makes it really worth it.”
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