Upon learning that sophomores are strongly encouraged to acquire 10 community service hours by the end of the school year, sophomore Zack Berchenko stepped into action.

“I packed food for Feed My Starving Children, an organization that ships food to starving children in different countries,” he said.

Berchenko heard about the opportunity through a friend, which added a social element to the experience.

“I packed food with four other kids my age, and it was very fun talking with them,” Berchenko said. “Volunteering with others made [it] more fun.”

Learning how to pack the food most efficiently was a learning curve, but in time, he got the practice he needed to master the skill. In the process, he also discovered that volunteering has a surprisingly low price tag.

“I learned that each meal costs only $1. That is amazing to me because it really makes me think about money differently,” Berchenko said. “One [iced coffee] would probably be very tasty, but for the same price, one could buy six meals for [people who are hungry].”

He left with fewer service hours to complete and a new awareness of how little it can cost to make an impact.