Spring is in full swing at Windsor High School in Broome County: The high school spring musical is “Annie” this year. The teachers are taking on the Binghamton police officers in a hockey game to benefit Windsor Post-Prom. Three teams made it to the state championships in the Odyssey of the Mind competition. And the first-ever Knight Pack Walk fundraiser for Global Youth Service Day is taking place this month.
The Knights are the mascot of Windsor. The school’s logo shows a black knight riding atop of a white steed, charging ahead with a banner in hand.
These days, the Knights are spending their days helping students in need. The Knight Pack Walk raises money to purchase food to put in the backpacks of hungry students.
High school math teacher Amy Green, a member of the Windsor Central School Teachers Association, shepherds the project on the faculty end. It began with her seventh-grade daughter, Alexis.
“She had read about hunger. She asked what it’s like in our school,” Green recalled.
Green contacted social workers and guidance counselors at the elementary and middle schools to get their feedback. At Windsor, she said teachers and school health care professionals work as a team.
“They’re a priceless resource and they know the value of doing things with anonymity,” she said.
Green had already started Knightwear Boutique about seven years ago. She collects gently used items such as clothes, games, prom gowns and decorations and stores them until it is time for an event. The items are then put out and students can take them for free. Teachers staff the boutique during their free periods.
Now, she helps her daughter — whom she describes as a “go-getter” — with the Knight Pack program, which was created in September. They raise money and send bags of food to the counselors, who put it in backpacks.
Guidance counselor Andrea White, also a member of the Windsor CSTA, drops the bags off to the children’s classrooms every Friday. “They are VERY excited to get them,” she said. “Some will ask me throughout the week if they are getting their backpack that day. Their faces light up every time they receive them — especially the younger children.”
White said the program has “definitely made a difference. The kids get healthy snacks over the weekend. This is something many of them wouldn't get without this program.”
“We buy and bag about 25-30 bags a week,” said Green. “We’ve had donations, food drives, student leaders, PTA groups and civic organizations (participating.)” Support has also come from Future Business Leaders of America and Students Against Destructive Decisions.
The backpacks are given out at the middle and elementary school, filled with fruit and pudding cups, oatmeal, and cereal bars. Each pack has about 15 food items.
“Seeing the bags in class raises awareness,” Green said. “We hope that kids will ask if they need food.”
-- Liza Frenette