Butler Junior High was all in Monday when the entire student body, along with about 50 teachers and other staff members, scrapped classrooms for a few hours to take a field trip.
The destination was northwest suburban Schaumburg for Feed My Starving Children, an organization that works to feed hungry children around the world.
The approximately 200 Butler Junior High students spent time putting food, which is donated to the cause, into bags and sealing those bags so that they are ready to be sent out.
“The idea is to have an instant meal in a bag,” said Kim Krupicka, a Butler Junior High science teacher who is the faculty sponsor of the school’s Student Services Board. The group of about 40 students focuses on service projects throughout the year.
“It really was the Student Services Board that suggested the whole school be involved in this, so we asked the administration, and they thought it was a great idea,” Krupicka said.
Many Butler Junior High students have made previous visits to Feed My Starving Children, either as younger students at Brook Forest School or on their own with family or friends. And those previous experiences made them want to return.
“I went three times over winter break with my brother and have been there about 20 total times,” said eighth grader and Student Services Board member Jenna D’Souza. “It’s always a really good feeling when I finish up helping there because I’m proud to make a difference.”
Jenna said she was excited about making another trip to Feed My Starving Children, this time with her fellow Butler Junior High students and teachers.
“Helping others is always important, and it’s really a good experience to share with others,” she said.
Seventh grader Samrah Syed, also a Student Services Board member, took a field trip to Feed My Starving Children as a fifth grader at Brook Forest School and was very excited to return.
“I like to be able to help kids in need,” she said. “Hunger is a very big problem in the world, it’s a worldwide crisis, so anything that can help is good.”
Samrah said thinking about children elsewhere in the world who don’t always know where they will get food to eat is very grounding.
“Going on this field trip makes us feel more thankful for what we have,” she said. “We have a lot more than most people do and need to appreciate that. And doing this together as a school makes us feel closer.”
Another Student Services Board member, eighth grader Anjali Jejurikar, agreed that having the field trip to Feed My Starving Children as an all-school event added to the experience.
“It’s a good way for all of us, together, to learn how to help others,” Anjali said. “We usually don’t have the opportunity to work with other grades like this, so that also makes it special.”
And Anjali believes this experience of helping others very likely will set a tone that will continue for many of the Butler Junior High students as they get older.
“It’s important to learn as kids how important something like this is,” Anjali said. “And I think it will have a larger impact for all of us because it’s something we did together as a school.”
Eighth grader Liam Kowalkowski isn’t a member of the Student Services Board, but he also thought the field trip to Feed My Starving Children was a great idea.
“Helping people is important, and I feel proud that we’re doing it as a whole school,” he said.