Sophie ’26 is leading a school supplies drive to support students in need within her hometown, using her summer grant to promote educational equity, strengthen community connections, and help ensure all children have the tools to succeed.
My summer grant project is centered around providing school supplies to students in need within my community. By supporting these students, I am able to build meaningful connections with different families while giving back to the community I grew up in. I believe that every child should be given equal opportunity in pursuing a good education and my work in organizing this school supplies drive has allowed me to make this belief a reality. This is important to me, as a student at Deerfield Academy, because I want to provide other students with the opportunity to benefit from an education as enriching and supportive as the one I am receiving. So far in my project, I have learned more about my community as I have been able to connect with families in need and create more opportunities for children by providing them with sufficient school supplies. The cause I am working for is incredibly relevant to myself and my peers because as our generation becomes the next world leaders, it is incredibly important that we receive meaningful educations in our adolescent years. So far in my project, I have met with the co-organizers of the school supplies drive to discuss logistics, and I have created a flyer that is posted around my community to advocate for this drive. The next step in my project will include collecting donations through the donation boxes placed in different locations throughout my town. I truly believe I will be able to make a difference through my work and I look forward to supporting the local students in need.