When the coronavirus outbreak closed schools in her community, first-year management major Samantha (Sammy) Gish jumped on the opportunity to help a local foundation feed families in need.
Many families in her hometown of Vail rely on the public school system to provide their children with regular lunches. With recent school closures, many of these families are now struggling to put food on the table. The Vail Valley Foundation and Youth Power365 set up a drive-through location and two grab-and-go locations where families can get as much food as they need every day. Gish is helping to make food and hand out lunches in her local school district.
Most summers, she works for the Vail Valley Foundation at the performing arts amphitheater. The foundation reached out to all previous employees to volunteer.
“I thought it was a great opportunity to get involved,” Gish said. “I feel very lucky to be able to give back to the community that helped raise me, especially during a time where the only thing that people should worry about is keeping their families healthy.”
She has become a master of sandwich arts in the process, having personally made hundreds of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in a manner of weeks.