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A Step Above: Silverado High School Student Council
They say the holidays bring out the best in people, and based on what we’ve seen from Silverado High School’s Student Council, that rumor is true. And yet their efforts to improve both the school and the community extend far beyond the season of thankfulness and giving. Between welcoming fellow students to new experiences in a new school year and ending it with a bang, they’re busy collecting and preparing food for the hungry, providing gifts to needy children and sharing their leadership expertise with our city’s youth. For all this and more, these budding young philanthropists have most certainly made the “nice” list, and elevated themselves to – A Step Above.
Activities, as explained by Cody Johnson, Student Body President:
Trick-or-Treat-athon: “Students are put into groups and assigned to specific neighborhoods in the community. They go door to door leaving a flyer asking them to leave non-perishable food items on their doorstep for us to pick up a few days later. This year we collected over a 1000 items of non-perishable goods that were donated to the Three Square Foundation.”
Shadow Day: “Eighth grade students come to high school for a day, follow some of our students through their classes and learn what it is like to be in high school. Then, when it comes to our leadership class period, the rest of the day is filled with workshops, leadership lessons and establishing of friendships!”
PB&J-athon: “At this event, we invite a few other student councils to help us make 1000 sack lunches for a charity of our choice. It’s not only a great opportunity for service, but it is a great chance that we have to mix with other councils and become more bonded as a Nevada Association of Student Councils.”
Shade Tree Party: “One of our students dresses up as Santa and asks the kids at the Shade Tree Shelter what they would like for the holidays. We are always so excited for this event because the women and children at Shade Tree really appreciate us coming in.”
Bear Project: “We sponsor two underprivileged children by giving gifts for the holiday season.”
Quotes from the Council:
What is the group’s greatest achievement so far this year? “Our group’s greatest achievement so far this year is our smooth transition with a new advisor. We’ve been able to successfully carry out all of our events together.” –Erin Rochetto, Student Body Historian
How do you select the charities you work with? “There is no special recipe to which charities we choose to donate to or work with. We try to focus on the ones that are in the most need in our community. Sometimes we do not even donate to a charity; it might even be a teacher or student that is in great need for donations. Silverado’s Student Council just tries to help out wherever we can.” –Cody Johnson, Student Body President
What are some of the obstacles you’ve faced as a group, in terms of planning and executing drives, fundraising, etc. and how did you overcome them? “Some obstacles our council has faced as a group are trying to choose events that everyone can get involved in easily without spending much money. We have chosen events such as dodgeball, assembly activities and after school competitions so everyone can come and have fun at a cheap cost, all the while raising school spirit.” –Erin Rochetto
How does working for charity affect the group’s dynamic? “Working for charitable organizations really helps our group because it brings us a lot closer and really puts into perspective the great things we have. Also, whenever we are done with the event, we feel so accomplished and it makes us want to do more for other organizations.” –Erin Rochetto
