Due to the pandemic, it has been hard for students to find community service opportunities, while also remaining safe. However, Flint Hill was able to partner with Food For Others, a food bank in Northern Virginia, to provide students with several service hours from the school itself. 

Food For Others is an organization that benefits the entire Fairfax County community. They provide free food and meals to those dealing with food insecurity. This is an especially important issue during the Holidays, as it helps to alleviate some of the stress families may face during these times. In addition, out of the over 200 thousand students living in the Fairfax Country area, over 20,000 of these students are dealing with food insecurity issues. Many of these students are not able to get enough to eat at home, especially on the weekends, and come to school hungry, affecting their ability to learn. 

However, the entire Flint Hill Community came together and was able to make a huge impact for these students’ weekends. In total, Flint Hill was able to donate over 13,000 food items, which were used to pack close to 1,000 meals for students in need. Volunteers worked diligently during the annual Tip-Off Tournament to pack these meals, while also being able to enjoy the varsity boys toilet paper throw afterward. Paras Bhanot ‘23 believes that, “This was a great service opportunity to help other students in our community, while also being able to have fun with our friends, and earn meaningful service hours.” He added, “It was also great because volunteers were still able to enjoy the basketball games with all of our friends afterwards.”

This event also had another significance for the school, as it was one of the first all-school service opportunities presented since the start of the pandemic. While gradual, it is indeed clear that Flint Hill is continuing to bring back a sense of normalcy that all huskies should truly appreciate. Lastly, thank you to all of the volunteers, students, parents, and faculty who helped to make this event so successful.