photo AHA Middle School students Angela, Lavender, and Valentina in front of the CFBNJ truck.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Demarest NJ, Eighty-eight families who currently face food insecurity have received Thanksgiving turkeys from the Academy of the Holy Angels. Each year, AHA hosts a Thanksgiving Turkey Drive to benefit Community FoodBank of New Jersey in Hillside.
“The high schoolers collected 62 turkeys, with the ninth grade having the largest percentage of participation in the high school with 18%,” said AHA Campus Minister Maryanne Miloscia, event organizer. “The middle schoolers collected 26 turkeys, which is 43% participation.”
AHA high school students Alison Roh, Gabby Ragucci, Mary Gassib, and Daniella Demaras bring their donations to CFBNJ’s Keith Owens. Owens says the Turkey Drive collection is one of his favorite responsibilities.
CFBNJ’s Keith Owens visited AHA to pick up the turkeys. Owens shared that this is one of his favorite responsibilities. He also enjoys distributing the birds.
AHA works with CFBNJ throughout the year. Holy Angels students regularly attend the food bank’s Teen Hunger Forum, and several have assisted CFBNJ with Global Youth Service Day. Angels regularly volunteer to educate others about issues relating to food insecurity and, more recently, the impact COVID-19 has had on hunger throughout the state.
Seniors Katherine “Amanda” Donohue of Hoboken and Alina Keshishian of Englewood Cliffs are members of the CFBNJ Teen Leadership Council. Sophomores Faye Kontzamanis and Nikki Theodorakos, both of Englewood Cliffs, are involved with the CFBNJ Teen Advisory Committee, the leadership group for the freshman and sophomore classes. All of these students will help with the Sophomore Retreat, which focuses on local hunger issues.
Founded by the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 1879, the Academy of the Holy Angels is the oldest private girls’ school in Bergen County. While AHA is steeped in Catholic tradition, this prestigious school serves young women from many cultural and religious backgrounds.
315 HILLSIDE AVENUE, DEMAREST, NJ 07627
201.768.7822 | HOLYANGELS.ORG
AHA Middle School students Lavender and Angela drop off their donations.