When Emily Boronkay, with the encouragement and support of Storm King Administrators Steevie Chinitz and Al Lewis, revived The Storm King School’s Community Service program last September, she wanted to make an impact on local organizations and the students themselves.  Nine months later it’s clear that the school’s Community Service Coordinator has exceeded all expectations.

Consider these highlights:

• Approximately 120 different students and 20 staff participated in no less than 27 events from September through May, starting with a Special Olympics soccer training event in Peekskill and concluding with fundraising walk for the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh and a Safe Harbors Off-Broadway Fundraiser Run.

• Every Wednesday, the school’s Cougar Boosters Club traveled to the Center for Hope in Newburgh, where they tutored and provided homework help to children from some of the area’s most distressed neighborhoods.  The Center was founded by three sets of parents who had lost children to street violence.  Ms. Boronkay says: “Our students get just as much out of it as the kids they tutor.  It’s a real confidence builder for those who sometimes think they have nothing to give.” One Wednesday, when the Center was closed, students also had the chance to work behind the scenes in the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley.

• Two busloads of students and faculty spent Abraham Lincoln’s birthday cleaning up the  African-American Cemetery in Montgomery, where Hurricane Irene had dumped a huge mess of tree limbs and debris.  The cemetery is believed to hold more than 100 graves, mostly slaves brought over from Africa centuries ago.  This project was initiated by Andre Green, Director of the school’s Mountain Center.

Storm King School was particularly active on behalf of the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh, participating in four “builds” and two fundraising events.  Dr. Cathy Collins, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh, hailed SKS students as “a force for good in Habitat Newburgh’s efforts to create safe, decent, affordable housing.” She also said that it was “equally exciting to work with Storm King faculty who truly care about giving students opportunities to be a part of the community, and believe in fostering students’ moral and civic development in addition to their academic development.”

Similar appreciation for the Storm King students came from Marie Gulari, county director for Northwest Human Services at Center for Hope:  “We’re very grateful for the wonderful things they do for our children.  They’re always engaged and, as a result, many of our kids showed definite performance improvement.”

June Henley, director of special events for Safe Harbors of the Hudson, echoed those sentiments after the Storm King students volunteered at a variety of events, including their Children’s Holiday Festival “Bells on Broadway.”  She said: “The kids are eager, intelligent and eager to help out.  I can always count on the school for help.”

If those activities weren’t enough, the students also surveyed eel populations along the Hudson River, helped out at St. Joseph’s Soup Kitchen in Greenwich Village, maintained trails in Black Rock Forest and Palisades Interstate Park and cleaned up the Hudson River via kayaks.  Still Ms. Boronkay says: “We are not yet all we could be, and I look forward to seeing how much more we can do next year with a year of experience supporting us!”  That can mean only good things for local organizations and the Storm King students.