Thanksgiving Season Brings Out the Best in Bolles Students
Bolles students across all four campuses took part in multiple initiatives aimed at giving back to the community this Thanksgiving season.
The Upper School San Jose Campus, Middle School Bartram Campus and Lower School Whitehurst Campus joined forces for a candy callback initiative after Halloween that resulted in 45 pounds of candy donated to the Jacksonville USO. The initiative was led by senior Katherine Asbury ’24, who is president of the Veterans Encouraging Teen Success (V.E.T.S.) Club.
The three campuses also collaborated with the Bolles School Sharks swimmers for this year’s Woodland Acres Food Drive, organized by seniors Raina Swani ’24 and Marci Pargman ’24. Their collective efforts resulted in nearly 1,500 nonperishable food items donated to students at Woodland Acres Elementary School and their families. Assistant Head of Upper School Piper Moyer-Shad ’91 and Director of College Counseling Daphne Vagenas took 11 students to Woodland Acres for the day to replenish their food pantry and help out in classrooms.
On the Lower School Ponte Vedra Beach Campus, students participated in a complementary candy callback drive, donating eight boxes and three bags of candy and special notes to the Jacksonville USO. The Bulldogs also collected about 12 boxes packed with food for families served by the MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation, with Ponte Vedra Beach Campus Assistant Head Anne Fallon organizing the initiative. The Ponte Vedra Beach Campus has a longstanding partnership with the nonprofit, which has provided youth development programs in Jacksonville since 1996.
Bolles middle school students in the Bartram Animal Lovers Club also brought in donations of food, toys, treats and cleaning products for Ana’s Angels Rescue ahead of Thanksgiving Break. The donations totaled more than $300 and filled the back of middle school English teacher Deborah Carney’s car!
Well done, Bulldogs! #TheBollesWay #BulldogsInspiringGoodness