Sheridan & Heights T1L1 students help IDES surpass 1 million meals

By KEVIN YANEY
For The Reporter

Student and mentors from the Teach One to Lead One (T1L1) chapters at Hamilton Heights and Sheridan middle schools took part in a food packing service project on March 25. The event was held at Hamilton Heights Middle School and was coordinated by the International Disaster and Emergency Services (IDES).

In the end, the T1L1 students helped pack enough food to push IDES past the one millionth meal supplied so far in 2026. This is a record for IDES in the first quarter of the year.

T1L1 is a community mentoring program. It provides local caring adults to be mentors to students during the school day. The mentors teach the students 10 universal principals – skills they need to grow into productive and responsible leaders. The 10 universal principals are respect, integrity, self-control, compassion, courage, teamwork, excellence, humility, enthusiasm and honor.

A requirement of the T1L1 curriculum is a service project where the students are giving back to others. In this case, they packed food for the people of West Africa, where roughly one-quarter of the world’s population living in extreme poverty is located.

IDES provides disaster response in the form of food, shelter, medical supplies and other necessary items worldwide. Located in Noblesville, the organization offers volunteer opportunities for groups and individuals who would like to make a difference in the world.

“Our partnership with IDES is perfect for what we are teaching these kids,” T1L1 Central Indiana Area Director Josh Tandy said. “Many of our students have never been asked to help someone else who needs a lift in life. Our students really enjoy this event.”

The millionth meal was measured, sealed, and packed around 11:30 a.m. last Wednesday.

“The group helped us go over 1,000,000 for the first quarter of 2026,” IDES GAP Director Jody England said. “This is the first time that has happened.”

T1L1 has been mentoring Hamilton Heights students since 2019. This is the first year the program has been at Sheridan.

If you are interested in being a mentor in central Indiana and have a flexible schedule, visit T1L1.org/mentors.