Beaver Island Lighthouse School Students Host Community Dinner

 

Spaghetti dinners are pretty common school fundraisers. But the dinner hosted every semester by students at the Beaver Island Lighthouse School is about more than spaghetti. It gives the students at the residential, alternative high school an opportunity to get involved in the community that during the school year becomes their home away from home.

“What this does is it gives them an idea that our community is much bigger than just our school,” said Steve Finch, Beaver Island Lighthouse School site supervisor. “We’re on an island that really does support our school.”

While it is a fun event, it also involves a lot of work. The students help prepare and serve the food which includes salads, spaghetti and two kinds of sauce, bread sticks, and delicious desserts. While they’re working, the students get a chance to meet many island residents and talk with them about the Lighthouse School.

“They support our school so it’s like we’re giving back to them,” said Tim Boomer, a Lighthouse School student.

“It lets us show that we care about others and we want to be part of the community,” said Madison Bellenbaum, a Lighthouse School student.

The students’ involvement in the community extends beyond the spaghetti dinner. They also volunteer to help island residents with yard work, help out at senior citizen meals, and host a Halloween haunted house. That community involvement is something the island residents really appreciate.

“I just think it is so important for these kids to come together with the rest of the community,” said Judy Boyle, an island resident.

“To hear the stories of some of these young kids and what they’ve gone through and what they’ve accomplished has been just heartwarming,” said Terry Saxton, an island resident.

After they finished serving dinners to the islanders the students got a chance to enjoy the food served to them by the Lighthouse School staff as a way of saying thank you and to underscore the importance of giving back to the community.

 

 

 

Related Info:  Beaver Island Lighthouse School