Student initiatives are in abundance during the holiday season at Green Hope High School.
Throughout 2024, the Green Hope community has found ways to support those in need through golf tournaments, Trunk or Treat, and the Hurricane Relief Drive. With a month left to make an impact, Green Hope High School students are hosting fundraisers within the remaining weeks of the year.
Rise Against Hunger
Green Hope’s Rise Against Hunger (RAH) club hosted a bake sale on Dec. 14 at the Apex Farmers Market to support Porch Communities, an organization dedicated to mitigating hunger. Rithika Kapu (‘26), president of RAH, was inspired to begin these initiatives due to her passion for addressing food insecurity, which stems from growing up in a community where hunger was a visible issue. She and her club wished to take action and “make a tangible difference during the holiday season” in the food insecurity space, and thought a bake sale would be the perfect way to achieve this.
Kapu is grateful for the success of the first bake sale, and has now planned to host a second one this Saturday, Dec. 21 from 8 AM to 12 PM. The RAH board will be selling homemade, holiday-flavored cupcakes and other sweet treats, with 100% of the proceeds going to Porch Communities. Kapu hopes to provide meaningful support to those facing hunger, spread joy to the community, and inspire others to give back this holiday season.
National English Honor Society
Green Hope’s National English Honor Society (NEHS) is hosting a book drive for the month of December to support Book Harvest, a children’s literacy nonprofit in Durham that provides access to books and educational material throughout the United States. Sarah El-Shafei, secretary of NEHS, wants to ensure that children, especially those affected by Hurricane Helene, have “equitable access to books and thought-provoking literature that will be a catalyst in their education.”
El-Shafei had a deeper motivation behind helping plan the book drive. She was put into an intervention program for her reading skills when she was in second grade, which allowed her to realize the impact that proper access to education and literacy materias can have on creating confident readers and writers. Her overall goal is to make sure childeren “feel that they aren’t left behind.” The book drive is accepting new and gently used books for ages 0 to 18 years old, until this Friday, Dec. 20. El-Shafei encourages all Green Hope staff and students to give importance to donation boxes are found scattered throughout the Green Hope hallways, decorated by her, her fellow board members, and other NEHS members. The NEHS board has taken more than 160 of these collected books to the drop-off center in Durham and they hope to keep supplying more materials to the nonprofit.
Psi Alpha
The Psi Alpha Honor Society is starting the new year with goals to increase mental health awareness at Green Hope High School. Tia Chaurasiya (‘25), secretary of Psi Alpha, and her fellow board members have planned the Green Hope’s first schoolwide fundraising initiative, which will raise money for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). NAMI is a nonprofit which will use the money donated to them to provide essential support, resources, and education for those struggling with mental health across America. Beginning in January, Chaurasiya and other members will be selling themed, packaged treats and donating all proceeds to NAMI. This initiative is more than a fundraiser.
Once a month, Psi Alpha will set up a table at the front of the school during lunch hours with treats along with a trifold introducing students to various mental wellness topics and supportive resources. Members will have the opportunity to contribute materials, such as food and decorations, to help make these sales successful. Chaurasiya hopes that the monthly initiatives will allow Psi Alpha meet their goal for the 2024-2025 school year: raise $15,000 for the Green Hope NAMI fundraising team. Psi Alpha will continue the holiday spirit as students and staff re-enter school after winter break, and embrace mental wellness within the community.
Student leaders of these fundraisers and donation drives are optimistic that the Green Hope community will take part in their initiative to end 2024 with an impactful note.
