2008-09 Community Service Report
	Spring 2008/09 On Monday, May 18, 2009, Marty Previtte '09, president of The Hill's Student Government Association (SGA), presented a check for $2,000 to the Pottstown Public Library. As part of the School's focus on local citizenship, The Hill welcomed Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter to speak to our faculty and students earlier in the spring. The Mayor declined to accept a $2,000 honorarium offered to him by the School for his presentation and instead, behind the scenes, he asked that Hill's SGA and faculty select a Pottstown nonprofit organization as the recipient of these funds. The members of the SGA chose The Pottstown Public Library, a “good citizen” of Pottstown that serves the members of our community extraordinarily well.   On Saturday, May 2, all members of the fourth form class (140 students), accompanied by faculty chaperones including Headmaster and Mrs. Dougherty, participated in a community service project in downtown Pottstown. Armed with garbage bags and gloves, the group made their way through Pottstown picking up trash in areas around The Hill, S. Keim Street, Industrial Highway, High Street, King Street, Queen Street, Hanover Street, College Avenue, and the Riverfront Park. The project was planned to support the “First Saturday” events in town, which also took place outdoors on May 2, featuring free music, children's entertainment, and other activities.   WINTER 2008/09 Through the efforts of Hill's basketball teams, more than $200 was raised to benefit Coaches vs. Cancer, a national collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches which aims to increase cancer awareness and promote healthy living. Click here to read more about this annual fundraiser.   The Hill's Operation Smile Club presented Dr. Bill Magee, co-founder and CEO of Operation Smile, with a check for $12,272.52 on Tuesday, February 24, when Dr. Magee was on campus as Hill's winter "Citizenship" speaker. The money was raised through recent events at Hill including a bowl-a-thon and Valentine's Day flower sale. Click here to read more about Dr. Magee's visit to Hill.   On Saturday, February 7, 2009, The Hill held the second-annual "Skate for a Cure" to raise money for cancer research. More than $1,700 was collected at the event, thanks in large part to participation by Hill students, faculty and their families, and Pottstown area residents who made $3 donations and donned skates at The Hill’s Edward Tuck Hall Arena. The event was organized by Alex Galasso '09 and Natalie Simonds '09. A large percentage of the money will stay here in the Pottstown community, benefiting the Pottstown Memorial Medical Center and Pottstown Cancer Treatment Center. The funds will be distributed through the American Cancer Society via the Pottstown Area Relay for Life. This event received wonderful coverage by the local media including a letter to the editor from a local resident who attended the event with his young daughter. Click here to read the letter.   The Hill School held a “Hunger Banquet” in association with Oxfam America on January 28, 2009 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The Banquet is, in the words of Oxfam educational materials, "a metaphor for how food and other resources" are distributed throughout the world in a manner that negatively affects "millions of people through no choice of their own." Donations were taken at the door, and will benefit Oxfam America, an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice. The Hill School's efforts are ongoing to raise $1,500, to cover the cost of irrigating 12 farmers’ land for one full year. This event received wonderful coverage by the local media.   The Pottstown community's Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration was held in The Hill's Center For The Arts on Sunday, January 18, 2009. Participants and members of at least 20 Pottstown area churches, community residents, and Hill students and faculty joined together to remember and celebrate the inspirational work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The two-hour long service was filled with Scripture readings, responsive readings, and joyous music provided by the choir from Bethel AME Church as well as The Hill's student vocal groups. The speaker was Tanesha Jackson, a Hill sixth former, whose message received a standing ovation from the guests in the full auditorium. This event received wonderful coverage by the local media.   Meet the Need, a student-run organization at Hill, held a fundraiser and winter clothing drive to help residents of Pottstown keep warm during the winter season. Members of The Hill community were encouraged to donate coats, gloves, hats, scarves, sweatshirts, sweaters, and other useful winter clothing that will benefit the Cluster Outreach Center of Pottstown. In all, two large boxes of clothing and $80 were donated to the Center.   Thanks to the generosity of students, faculty, and staff, The Hill School donated more than 100 gifts to the Salvation Army's Christmas Angel program, which provides new clothing and toys to needy children for the holidays. The gifts were delivered to the Pottstown Salvation Army, where parents are able to pick up the presents to give to their children on Christmas day. Fall 2008 Eliza Bellis ’09 and Ata Zaklicki ’09 recently sold handmade bracelets to raise money for From Houses to Homes, New Jersey-based nonprofit organization that builds homes in the poorest sections of the Guatamala in the hopes of improving families lifestyles. Many members of The Hill community supported the efforts and a total of $853 will be donated to benefit disadvantaged families.   For the past 18 years, Hill’s Action AIDS club has participated in and raised money for the annual Philadelphia AIDS Walk. This year the club raised more than $1,219.15 at their annual red ribbon sale with 267 members of The Hill community contributing $3 or more.   More than 70 Hill students, faculty, staff, and family members participated in the Operation Smile bowl-a-thon held at the Limerick Bowling Alley on October 19, 2008. The event, organized by Caitlin Klein ’09, generated $11,833.60 in contributions-- the largest amount ever raised by Hill’s Operation Smile club or any other school-wide fundraiser. The money will benefit the not-for-profit medical service organization which provides free surgeries to children and young adults with cleft lip and palate deformities. Enough money was raised by members of The Hill community to provide 47 surgeries, as each surgery costs $250.   On September 19, a fire destroyed several homes on the 500 block of High Street in Pottstown, displacing 50 people. In an effort to help the families affected by the fire, The Hill School will donate $5,000 to The Pottstown Long-Term Relief Committee, which is chaired by The Rev. Dr. John Houghton, Hill School chaplain. This event received wonderful coverage by the local media.