Students Helping Students: Capstone Project

Over the past four months, Libby Larro has been organizing a Capstone Project called “Students Helping Students” to benefit United Methodist Family Services. United Methodist Family Services is an organization that provides foster and adoption care, residential treatment centers, and day schools for at-risk children in Richmond and across Virginia. Through her project, Libby was able to fundraise to purchase new outdoor patio furniture for UMFS, and was able to donate over $500 worth of new toys and games through an Amazon wish list. The Leadership Center elective classes competed to see who could bring in the most donations for UMFS sensory kits, and Libby was able to make eight new kits thanks to their help. The sensory kits are for younger children to have in the car for when they become stressed or anxious, and they contain items such as silly putty, bandanas, and fabric swatches. The Business Development Representative at UMFS, Dani Halbleib, was able to come to James River and speak to 25 students from all grades about the services UMFS provides and the impact that they make. It was a very informative and interesting morning, and everyone left feeling more educated about the needs of children in their community and more willing to find out how they can volunteer and serve with UMFS.

All in all, Students Helping Students not only provided vital resources to UMFS, but it educated the James River community about the important issue of at-risk children in Virginia and what they can do to help.