Hamilton Heights T1L1 students help fight hunger in Ghana

Submitted by Kevin Yaney

Teach One to Lead One (T1L1) students at Hamilton Heights Middle School recently took part in a food packing service project. The students, teachers and mentors packaged enough food to provide 9,000 meals to Ghana in West Africa through the International Disaster Emergency Service (IDES).

The T1L1 mentoring program works with fifth- and eighth-grade students at Hamilton Heights Middle School. The mentors meet weekly with students to help them learn 10 Universal Principles that are integral to discovering purpose and potential in life. Those principles include showing respect, integrity, self-control, courage, excellence, humility, enthusiasm, compassion, teamwork, and honor. The students are challenged to put the Universal Principles to work in a service project. In total, 185 students, teachers, and mentors took part in the food packing.

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IDES provides disaster response in the form of food, shelter, medical supplies, and other necessary items worldwide. There are an estimated 3.6 million children living in poverty in Ghana.

“Many of our kids have never been asked to help someone in dire need,” said Sara Colter, Area Manager for Central Indiana T1L1. “IDES is a wonderful partner that gives our kids the opportunity to actually meet the hunger needs of children half a world away. You should see the joy in their faces when they realize they have fed so many kids.”

T1L1 has been mentoring Hamilton Heights students since 2019. If you are interested in being a mentor in central Indiana and have a flexible schedule, contact T1L1 at T1L1.org/mentors.