The 400-pound Trimester for Neighbors

Seventeen freshmen from Rockford High School dare to make a difference

by Patrick Bishop

It’s early April 2026, the beginning of the “big trimester” at Rockford High School’s Freshman Center. Mrs. Jamie Schramm, math teacher and student council advisor, is looking to adopt a social issue for student council’s outreach project. The previous semester’s student council surveyed the freshmen class and discovered the issue of homelessness, or the "unhomed", held the greatest interest for these students. Armed with this information, she issued the challenge: to educate and engage freshmen on the topic of homelessness. What she didn’t know was how seriously they’d take it.

“Mrs. Schramm told us to do some research,” said Piper, one of seventeen freshmen students in student council. “We watched videos, searched websites, and talked to people.” According to Piper, what they found was that unhomed people, “just want someone to talk to them and treat them normal.”

They also researched people’s need for essential supplies like blankets, water bottles, tarps, shoes, hygiene items, backpacks, and toothbrushes. Viv, another student, became inspired “to see how many people got excited over a water bottle or a backpack. It just makes you want to help them and do more.” Other freshmen student council members chimed in.

Jessie said, “It’s surprising how close people are to becoming homeless.” Her research found that many families are only one disaster away from living on the street.

Stella shared, “One of our friends was unhomed, and he’d stay with us sometimes… eventually he was able to get back on his feet.” This experience changed her perspective.

“It’s eye-opening,” said Viv. “You don’t really think about it (homelessness), normally. That’s their whole life. It made me feel like I want to help these people.”

Avery agreed, “It makes me want to be compassionate towards people who need help and realize we might have an abundance of those things.” She added, “Just a small effort can make a difference.”

During the research phase, students connected with Rockford Freshmen Center counselor, Ms. Jennifer Lutz, a volunteer at Grand Rapids Neighbors for Neighbors (N4N). Isa, student council student, said, “We wanted more than just a drop box and we had a connection with Ms. Lutz. She spoke about Neighbors (for Neighbors) and put us in touch.”

They learned that N4N’s mission provides food and essential supplies once a month to anyone in need. “N4N operates out of the garage space at Bethlehem Lutheran in downtown Grand Rapids,” said N4N co-founder and president, Helen Van Essendelft. She added, “We have distribution days the second Saturday of every month where we give items away like jeans, underwear, tarps, toiletries, sandwiches, and other basics. Everyone is welcome.” Students also learned that N4N isn’t religiously affiliated. According to teacher, Jaime Schramm, this is an important factor when partnering with a public school.

After hearing about N4N and the struggles of the unhomed, the Rockford freshmen student council decided to do something about it.

“There’s a sign in the back of the class, it’s our motto,” said teacher, Mrs. Schramm. “We talk about it all the time. It says, ‘Make Things Happen.’” The seventeen freshmen student council members did just that.

They put their heads together and created a promotional plan for a donation drive of essential supplies to be implemented over four weeks during third hour. The plan involved more than 550 freshmen in 25 classes.

It was called the “Tower of Power”. The class with the highest tower and the class with the heaviest load would win donuts or a pizza party. The effort included social media posts, conversations with peers, posters, announcements, and meetings with third hour teachers. They kicked off the drive April 15 and donations began to show up, piled in classrooms throughout the building through April 29.

“It felt empowering,” Viv exclaimed. “Going through and seeing all the clothes from men, women, and kids, and seeing that they (fellow students) asked their families to donate.”

Isa added, “Once parents heard about it, it really took off.”

Jessie said, “It really helped to have teachers involved… one teacher, Mr. Keeler, really got into it.” Isa agreed, “Seeing it was cool. Every classroom had something, even if it was a bar of soap.” Jayla noted that, “people had a change of perspective halfway through and wanted to be involved.”

Isa laughed, stating, “Mr. Keeler, he brought in a lot of bars of soap, kind of secretive, so no one would know.” His class won the highest tower of supplies, reaching a height of 7 feet 2 inches. “It was really fun to see a teacher get excited and involved,” said Isa. “When he won, he started flexing and told his class they were getting pizza.”

At the end of the drive, student council members took carts to more than 25 classes, collecting all the donations. Stella said, “We put Isa on a scale and began piling everything into her arms.” She held batch after batch after batch. “It was crazy and really fun to stack all this stuff,” said Isa. “I got to weigh it, and it was everywhere.” Afterward, they created a mountain of supplies and it weighed more than 400 pounds.

“After I saw students giving their stuff away, it made me realize how compassionate people can be,” said Avery, who ended up taking another step of helping in the process. Avery and her friend Madi, along with their teacher, Mrs. Schramm, went to the May distribution event of Neighbors for Neighbors. “We went and volunteered to see these items go from our homes to the unhomed,” said Avery. She smiled and said, “I saw a man get my backpack and it was really cool.”

In one trimester, these seventeen freshmen student council students created something that didn’t exist beforehand. “It’s really cool to see how much of a difference it did make,” said Piper. Isa agreed, adding, “In the end, even though we were really doubtful, it was cool to see how much we really got.” 

But it wasn’t just about donations. They also changed hearts and minds, gaining new perspectives. “Don’t judge so quickly,” said Abby.  “We notice they (the unhomed) are stronger than you think,” said Isa. “They’re not all struggling by choice, some of them are struggling by circumstance. That was cool to realize.”

Stella concluded with an insight, “I hope this project doesn’t just end here. One tube of toothpaste can lead to a person getting a job.”

Jayla summed it all up wisely, saying, “Whatever your living situation is, we’re all human and we should all be helping each other.”