Sussex Academy Student Board Awards Grants for Peer-Led Service Projects

Student Board at Georgetown Charter School Supports Efforts to Aid Local Families

Student leaders at Sussex Academy award new funding to support peer-led service projects benefiting local children and families. (Photo credit: Sussex Academy)

Student leaders at Sussex Academy, a public charter school based in Georgetown, have awarded new rounds of funding to support peer-led service projects aimed at assisting local children and families.

Members of the school’s National Honor Society (NHS), who manage the Sussex Academy spirit wear store, reviewed applications and selected two student groups to receive $200 each. Proceeds from the store fund the society’s philanthropy board, which distributes grants to clubs proposing specific, actionable service efforts.

This year, board members Jack Thomas, Victoria Evans, Aubrey Stanislav, and Carolyn Reese approved grants for the Make a Change Club and the school’s Food Pantry. Students said both applications outlined clear goals consistent with the service requirements of NHS.

Make a Change Club members Riley Moriarty and Layla Hastings requested funding to make blankets for hospitalized children. With the grant, the group purchased supplies to create and deliver 25 fleece blankets to pediatric patients at Beebe Healthcare in Lewes and Bayhealth Hospital, Sussex Campus in Milford.

The Food Pantry, operated by student Jenna Davis with school nurse Dawnyel Furlong, also received $200. Last year the pantry used similar funding to purchase a freezer; this year’s grant will support the creation of Holiday Meal boxes for Sussex Academy families ahead of Thanksgiving. Davis said the additional supplies, including frozen meat and pantry staples, help the program better meet community needs each year.