PCS National Honors Society volunteers at Mercy Meals of SW Nebraska

Sixteen Perkins County students put a dent in global hunger and in their community service hours by packing meals at Mercy Meals of Southwest Nebraska.
Students and advisor Deanne Bishop traveled to Wauneta Jan. 19. Between packing, weighing, sealing and boxing meals, the group prepared 1,800 bags, for a total of 10,800 meals, from 9-11 a.m. that morning.
Each meal is precisely measured to contain soy granules, chicken powder, dried vegetables and rice.
Bishop said the majority of Perkins County’s NHS members’ service projects and volunteer hours take place in and around Perkins County.
“However, packing food at Mercy Meals of SW Nebraska is a great way to expose our students to a different type of volunteer opportunity — one that has a global-reach. The food we help pack is sent to needy areas around the world. This is just a neat way to get them thinking about new ways to serve others,” she added.
NHS members had the added bonus of working with Frances Harris Lewis, a 1961 Grant graduate.
“We’d like to thank Jan Coone and the other board members of Mercy Meals of SW Nebraska for lining up the opportunity for our students to help,” Bishop said.
The NHS students had a good time doing it, according to Bishop.
“I heard numerous students say things like, ‘I could do this all day!’ and ‘I feel good about myself. I feel like I made a difference today.’ Many students were surprised to learn that an operation like Mercy Meals of SW Nebraska even existed,” she said.
With each student needing a minimum of 16-documented hours of community service each year, Bishop said the chapter tries to get some of those hours through group projects.
With a November blood drive for the American Red Cross and this Mercy Meal packing completed, Bishop said the student will continue to work towards their hours individually.