Bellevue High School student organizes others to help feed shelter residents

By Changlin Li

cli@bellevuereporter.com

For most high schoolers, volunteering is just a way to garner the requisite hours for high school graduation. However, for Philip An volunteer work goes beyond simply garnering hours on a sheet of paper. An, a Bellevue High School sophomore, organized a schoolwide event donating 100 sandwiches to Seattle's Union Gospel Mission.

Initially, the idea for the sandwiches came about from a leadership class that all the Associated Student Body (ASB) officers at Bellevue High School are required to take. Each member of the class is expected to finish a series of projects, among them a project which is in some way associated with the greater community. An, the Student Director of Finance (an ASB office) for Bellevue High's sophomore class, needed to find something to fulfill that project. From there, the process snowballed.

An contacted Seattle's Union Gospel Mission with his offer of donation. He then secured a $100 donation from a local QFC and using it, bought the peanut butter, jelly, and bread necessary for the sandwiches. With the help of the leadership class, much of the work was done over the course of two weeks. Nonetheless, when asked about how he felt planning it all out, An laughed and said, "The last couple days were pretty stressful."

After gathering several fellow students to help with the project, An and his classmates set up a table with jars of peanut butter and jelly alongside slices of bread, disposable gloves, and ample supplies of butter knives. Anyone who wanted to help stopped by the table to make a sandwich, or more accurately stopped by behind the crowd that had formed around the table.

High school teenagers who were ready to leave school for their own lunches gave some time to make the meals of others, generating a huge response to An's project. Wednesday's classes let out early at 12:30. By 12:35 all 100 sandwiches had been made.

Once the last sandwiches had been packed in boxes, talk among An and his classmates shifted to what they would be doing in the future. After seeing the enthusiastic participation of his classmates in the event, An is considering organizing the event on a regular basis. His reason is simple. "We're just trying to improve the school and community."

Changlin Li is a student at Interlake High School and an intern with the Bellevue Reporter. He can be reached at 425-453-4270, ext. 5060.

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