The National Honors Society members from McIntosh raised money for the Joseph Sams School from Nov. 3 to Nov. 17. The entire McIntosh chapter of the NHS participated in the service project benefiting the school.

According to the Joseph Sams School website, the school is a non-profit private institution for mentally and physically disabled children; it relies solely on outside donations to provide education. Located in Fayetteville, the school takes in students from across the county in order to give them full access to an education that is specifically tailored for the student’s disability.

The NHS members sold paper leaves for one dollar to raise funds for the school; the leaves can be viewed on the paper tree outside the senior cafeteria. Along with the leaves, students in NHS collected baby wipes, paper towels, Kleenex and paper plates for donation.

Some of the NHS members have found it difficult to sell leaves because of the concept’s abstract nature. Senior Sarah Snyder said, “I like the fact that we’re [raising money for] the Joseph Sams school, but it’s hard to sell leaves. [A] lot of people are really confused on what that means no matter how many times I’ve explained.”

However, all of the students–juniors and seniors–are happily participating in the project. Junior Mary Claire Howe said, “I think it’s a really good idea. The school system needs the help for it. My neighbors are really involved in the [Joseph Sams School], and I became kind of involved through them, so being able to do this through [our] school is really neat as well. I enjoy being involved and finding out about our community, so I’m looking forward to [future NHS projects].”

Junior members of National Honors Society await future service projects that NHS will offer in the coming year. Junior Bailey Manson said, “The Joseph Sams School is a great organization–a great school–to be donating to, and I am thrilled that National Honors Society gets to take part in the donation process for a special needs school. I’m really excited [for future projects]. I’m thinking that we could branch out more, maybe continue with the Joseph Sams School and help out different schools and different organizations to spread our message.”

The process of selecting charities for the service project was rigorous and precise. Ms. Walls said, “We select a local Fayette County non-profit organization each year to help. The decision is made by the officers. We get a list of ideas and try to contact various organizations and then we make the selection based on the information they provide to us. We are always looking for new ways to support Fayette County. Each year we have chosen a different local group to support. Last year our focus was Promise Place and this year it is The Joseph Sams School.”