Woodland’s National Honor Society has transcended the typical canned food drive or volunteering experience. Since the start of the year, the group of hard-working students has come together to volunteer at Hidden Acres Therapeutic Riding Center and pull off a Cereal Box Challenge. With these two community events already accomplished, the honor society does not have plans to slow down any time soon.

Plans to volunteer at Hidden Acres, a therapeutic horseback riding facility where Principal Kurt Ogren also volunteers, began at the end of the current honor society’s junior year. These early preparations made it possible for the group to jump right in at the start of their senior year. On September 6th, 14 members arrived at the farm to help set up for a Night of Caring, a fundraising event in which guests come together to enjoy live music, auction, and raffles.

“As a group we had to set up the tent area with tables, chairs, and decorations to make it look nice for the event,” said Carter Davis, member of the honor society.

The members of the National Honor Society are already familiar with the personal fulfillment that comes out of volunteering experiences, and this one was no different.

“It was really nice to be able to volunteer because Hidden Acres is responsible for a lot of good things and they do a lot of good events,” said chapter Vice President, Bryce DiGiovanna. “It was nice to help them out and you could tell it meant a lot to them and it meant a lot to us too.”

Then, at the beginning of November, the honor society began their second endeavor of the year: A Cereal Food Drive. From October 23rd to November 6th, classes competed against each other to see which grade could collect the most cereal boxes. The junior class came out on top and won the competition by collecting 72 boxes, but the real success from the competition was the collective 193 boxes donated across all grades. With all of the donated boxes, a game of dominoes was constructed outside of the library on November 8th.

“The fundraiser was very successful,” said DiGiovanna. “It was really great because a lot of students were engaged in the activity and throughout the week more and more advisories became committed to the competition.”

The honor society comes across these volunteering opportunities through connections with local organizations, as well as through taking inspiration from previous years.

“Soon we hope to work with Antonio’s in Beacon Falls to do a fundraiser,” Secretary Gresa Aliu said. “And we have been working with them for many years.”

For the remainder of the year, the National Honor Society also has plans to host events making cards for senior centers, a college essay workshop, and the yearly Read Across America Event at the elementary schools. President Charli Hughes is optimistic that the rest of the year will continue to be as productive as the first half was.

“With our induction rapidly approaching, we are eagerly awaiting our new members and looking forward to several projects, including both junior and senior NHS members,” said Hughes. “We are immensely dedicated to advancing service in our community.”