Arun Abraham and Heaven Chu are the two recipients
The law firm of Hoffman DiMuzio has allocated close to half a million dollars to its Gift of the Heart Community Scholarship Foundation. Forty-nine graduating seniors from Gloucester, Cumberland, and Salem County High Schools have been selected to receive a one thousand dollar scholarship for embodying the service ideals of the program. This week, the 2018 Gift of the Heart Hoffman DiMuzio Community Service Foundation recipients are from Williamstown High School: Arun Abraham and Heaven Chu.
Arun Abraham
Music has provided Arun Abraham significant opportunities to give back to his community. The audience’s appreciation, according to Arun, “make the hours of labor intensive practice more than worthwhile.”
As the anchor drummer in the high school jazz program, he has participated in countless performances for senior citizens at local nursing homes, and for each graduating class at the school Senior Recognition Night. As a member of the Marching Band, he has played charity games, such as the Adam Taliaferro Football Classic, and the Halloween, Christmas and Memorial Day parades. With the Business Finance Academy, he participated in bake sales and wrote cards for senior citizens in his community.
Additionally he is a member of the National Honor Society, with whom he volunteered regularly as a tutor. This experience affirmed for him the importance of more direct volunteer work in addition to larger scale community events. Outside of his interest in volunteering, Arun is a member of DECA, a student career-development organization. With DECA, he was a 2017 national qualifier at the International Career Development Conference in Anaheim. Thank you for your service, Arun!
Heaven Chu
Heaven Chu has dedicated hundreds of hours to volunteer work over the course of her high school career. The projects with which she’s been involved span from school blood drives to acting as an assistant karate teacher.
The experience that has been most impactful, according to Heaven, is the time she has spent at the Kennedy Nursing Home. Every Sunday, she would provide support for those partaking in refreshments. She helped residents make their way to the recreation room, served beverages, and talked to them about both their lives and her own. These afternoon discussions taught Heaven that even “the most trivial actions can make anyone feel appreciated.”
In 2016 Heaven also began volunteering at Kennedy hospital; she has since provided over one hundred hours of service there. In her school, Heaven also volunteers with the Sports Events Varsity Club, helped out with the American Red Cross Blood Drive, and participates in peer tutoring with the National Honor Society. Aside from her interest in volunteering, Heaven is a member of the Varsity Tennis team, National Spanish Honor Society and is Vice President of the Health Careers Club. Great work, Heaven!
Sincere congratulations are extended to Williamstown High School students Arun Abraham and Heaven Chu, as well as to their proud parents, family and friends!
