PSES students unveil their very own Lowcountry Blessing Box

As a way to address the lack of healthy food providers that exists near Philip Simmons Elementary School, students who participated in the school’s “Genius Hour” last semester came up with the idea of creating a “Blessing Box,” in coordination with the Lowcountry Blessing Box Project. The box contains donated non-perishable foods for those in need to take.

Each semester, a new group of students gets the opportunity to take part in this innovative program, explained Rosemary Herold, librarian at PSES, who also supervises Genius Hour. For the first quarter of each semester, the students work on a guided project. This semester, they worked on solving the local “food desert,” defined as an area that does not have access to healthy food within four miles, continued Herold.

After a lot of hard work by the students and teachers, the Blessing Box, located on the school’s campus, was officially ready to be unveiled last Thursday, Feb. 15. Faculty and families of the students joined those who worked on the project for a ribbon cutting ceremony.

After the ceremony, Dr. Karen Whitley, chief human resources officer for the Berkeley County School District and former principal of PSES, emphasized what a wonderful community exists at PSES.

“My heart is so full when I think of PSE,” said Whitley. “What an amazing PSE community of students, staff and families working together to make our world a better place and serving others while pursuing a world-class education. The Blessing Box is just one example of the differences that our students are making as they are working to make the world a better place.”

To learn more about Genius Hour or to schedule a visit, email Herold at heroldr@bscdschools.net or Principal Dr. Karen Whitley at whitleyk@bscdschools.net.