Kenwood’s IB Teacher/Coordinator and Student Government Association (SGA) advisor, Ms. Forman has led her student leaders of both organizations through multiple service projects this school year. With it being the first full year back in person with mostly all new students that weren’t a part of the programs the last time school was in session in person for a full year, it was a great chance to get back into the role of serving their community.

Ms. Forman has been advising Kenwood’s SGA for the past five years and though she was the MYP coordinator prior to becoming the IB coordinator she’s only been in that role for the past year.

Students kicked their year off giving back to the community with a Back to School supply drive for a local nonprofit run by BCPS Pupil Personnel Worker Jen Cox, Empower 4 Life. After that they collected travel size toiletries for the LMS Compassion Place here in Essex. One of their more popular service projects is Socktober.

They sell socks to help to fund prosthetic limbs for people who cannot afford them. This year’s funds went to purchase a prosthetic limb for a young boy named Daniel out of Tanzania. He fell and broke his leg and whereas such an injury here in the US would involve months of an annoying cast, in Tanzania it resulted in his leg being amputated due to infection. But with the funds from Kenwood’s Socktober and their partnership with We Help Two, “Daniel was given a new leg and a new opportunity for normalcy.”

As families headed into the holidays, students organized a winter clothing drive for the families of Empower 4 Life. Empower 4 Life CEO Cox shares, “Thanks to the KHS IB program, we were able to add dozens of items to both our back to school and holiday drive projects, bringing huge smiles to faces of children in really difficult situations.”

Part of the International Baccalaureate Program is service as action. “Service as action is a foundational element of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Program (MYP). It seeks to develop caring members of the community who act to make a positive difference to the lives of others and their environment,” states the IB program website.

Students were happy to give back to their community this past year and look forward to the future projects they’ll take on to make a difference. Kenwood IB student Sarah Okome adds, “The IB’s “service in action” motto helps me to prepare for the outside world as it takes a big part in my character development.  By indulging in service I am able to dwell in the community of knowers and resonate and interact with people and learn about the importance of serving my community. Taking part in service activities allows me to take joy in helping others and appreciate what I have in life. I can be a blessing to others in the future and continue to make contributions to making a difference in the world.”