Gloucester County Institute of Technology delivered more than 300 meals to the Cathedral Kitchen in Camden on July 14, part of a school based program that partnered with the National Honor Society.
GCIT has supported the Cathedral Kitchen through donations for several years. Its School Based Youth Services program is also a partner in the delivery effort.
“We actually started years ago going there (the kitchen), maybe about four or five times a year, helping out and providing assistance to their dinner services,” said Kim Glazer, director of the GCIT’s School Based Youth Services.
The program’s services at GCIT include individual and family counseling, recreational activities and exploration of careers and employment. Its goal and ultimate mission is to improve and maintain the emotional mindset of teens while helping them achieve their educational goals.
“Students love to volunteer, because it gives them a really good vision of what life is like outside in the real world,” Glazer noted. “It’s just been a great relationship, and the cathedral welcomes us with open arms.”
GCIT students are involved in more than one service at the food bank, including packing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
“Our students served the food, plated the food, and swept the floors,” said Glazer.
The students also have lent a hand at the Food Bank of South Jersey in Pennsauken.
“We just showed up there and said, ‘We’re here: What do you need?’” Glazer explained. The honor society at GCIT also donates community-service hours that include maintaining veterans cemeteries, fundraising and collecting toiletries and personal items for the Ronald McDonald House.
“Everybody really just always wants to help, and we are so fortunate in that,” Glazer said.
For more information on the School Based Youth Services program and the honor society, visit www.gcit.org.
