Give Joy, Get Joy: Sophia Brancato ’27 & Lia Nnenkwo ’28 Present Grant Application To The Teenworks Board

By Darah Donaher

On Tuesday, October 11, two students from the Community Service Elective, Sophia Brancato ’27 and Lia Nnenkwo ’28, presented a grant application for the Swain Campus “Day of Joyful Giving” to the TeenWorks Board. They received the full funding of $1,000.00 as well as a generous donation of another $200.00 from the Krysta Hankee Memorial Fund!

TeenWorks is a board made up of teens and adults through United Way of the Lehigh Valley funded by labor unions to encourage and fund young, local applicants who want to better their communities. This year Community Service has partnered with Joyful Giving, a 501(c)(3) volunteer-based non-profit organization that packages essential items that look and feel like gifts to create joy. The elective hopes to bring the joy of making a difference to Swain by assembling joy maker bags with the entire school. There is a shared purpose for both the recipient and assembler of Joy Maker bags: GIVE JOY, GET JOY.

On November 22, the Community Service Elective ran “Day of Joyful Giving” where every student and their buddy made Joy Maker Bags together! The elective spent time learning about and researching different nonprofits that support youth in the Lehigh Valley and decided on a few where these bags will go, like Reilly Children’s Hospital, Promise Neighborhoods, and Sixth Street Shelter.