Assabet Valley Regional Vocational School District Business Technology Students Set Out on Mission to Give Back Through Kits for Kids Event

MARLBOROUGH — Superintendent-Director Ernest F. Houle proudly shares that students in the Business Technology class held a Kits for Kids kit-building event to benefit the local Kits for Kids and the Department of Children and Families (DCF).

Each year, Business Technology sophomores plan and execute an Impact Project as part of their ongoing work with the Chick-fil-A Leader Academy, a national high school leadership program sponsored by a local Chick-fil-A that aims to make an “impact through action” while developing youth leadership skills.

For this year’s Impact Project, students collected monetary and material donations from fellow students and local organizations to benefit the nonprofit organization Kits for Kids, which supplies children in need with kits containing everyday essentials, clothes, toys and a stuffed animal.

“For the students to be able to take a step back and realize how important it is to give back to the community, not thinking of themselves and getting off their phones for a few minutes to build these kits is really honorable and admirable,” said Marlborough Mayor Christian Dumais.

Students collected donations from about 20 local businesses. To engage the Assabet community, the students came up with the idea to hold a Shop War.

Fifteen of Assabet’s vocational shops competed by contributing financial or material donations to the Impact Project throughout April. Students researched the estimated value of donated items to determine how many points physical items would be worth. The shop that collected the highest value of donations would receive a cash prize of $200.

The Culinary shop claimed the prize, with a total of 1,819 points.

Staff and faculty also contributed donations, which entered them into a raffle to win prizes courtesy of local businesses.

The collective efforts of students garnered $2,100 in cash and $346 in gift card/raffle prize donations, along with 2,500 donations of physical items.

Students also applied for and received a $500 Chick-fil-A microgrant to help fund the initiative. 

The students collected these donations in hopes of filling 50 bags to donate to Kits for Kids. They greatly surpassed their goal, filling 200 bags. 

“I am so incredibly proud of what we created. This project became more than just an assignment; it became a mission. A mission to help, to serve, to grow and to connect,” said Impact Project Student Manager Fallon Medrano, an Assabet Business Technology sophomore from Marlborough. “It became a symbol of what can happen when young people are given the chance to lead with purpose. This wasn’t just about building something physical; it was about building something meaningful.”

On Friday, May 9, the students saw their efforts come to life as guests gathered to fill the kits, which included toiletries, hygiene products, toys, games and stuffed animals, and a free meal voucher from Chick-fil-A or Raising Cane’s.

Guests were welcomed by a speaking program that included Business Technology teacher Sharon Bogere, Superintendent-Director Houle, Mayor Dumais, Chick-fil-A Executive Business Director Elizabeth Nichols, Kits for Kids Co-founder Jay Johnston, and Impact Project Student Manager Medrano. 

“For Assabet, this is a proud moment. We educate students in real-world career and technical education scenarios, and these students have the ability to show their technical skill sets and the techniques that they’re learning from our rockstar and expert teachers,” said Superintendent-Director Houle. “On top of that, they are adding another dimension by giving back to their community and having ownership of making an impact on the local community. Assabet is proud to do our small part in helping to impact those students who are underserved or in need.”