The Bellefonte High School Introduction to Business and Leadership classes taught by business teacher Mr. Ryan Myers has been preparing to perform acts of community service through student-led projects. In a spread of two classes, there are seven projects benefiting the Bellefonte community. 

Students of all grade levels have worked in their classes on different projects. These all share a common theme on how students can help their community. The projects were started in January, when students worked once a week to plan out who to contact and how to make a positive impact in Bellefonte. 

Mr. Myers appreciates how students are learning how to work together and how to partner with people from the school and the community to make their projects come to life. He speaks on his guidance over these projects.

“While I know they may get frustrated at times that things don’t always work out the way they hope, they are learning from both their failures and successes. Everyone is learning to navigate a large, open-ended project where I’ve tried to provide guidance for the students while at the same time letting them figure things out on their own,” he said. 

One group of students, The Helping Hands, geared their project towards donating to  Centre Helps, a local non-profit. Freshman Lydia Osman is a part of Helping Hands, and explains her experience working on this project.

“My favorite part of the project was trying to plan it out, because it came with many challenges, but it was fun working together and coming up with ideas,” she said. 

The group held a raffle fundraiser at the Mountain League track and field championship held at the high school. All items were donated from local businesses including Bellefonte Weis Markets, Bellefonte YMCA, Pelican Snoballs, and M&M Printing. They raised a total of $101 for Centre Helps through their raffle fundraiser. 

Students gained knowledge on how to help their community. They went outside their comfort zone a little by making phone calls, talking to adults they didn’t know, and practicing the communication and organization skills that are prominent in business careers. 

“It was a valuable experience picking up litter from the side of the road and was fun to give back and be outside,” senior Logan Williams said about his experience with his project. 

If you are interested in taking a closer look into these projects, you can check out the organization website to learn more information about these projects at https://www.lead4change.org.