Senator Hassan Recognizes Kearsarge Regional High School Community Outreach Group as May’s Granite Staters of the Month

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan recognized Kearsarge Regional High School’s student group, Students Working on Community Outreach (SWOCO), as May’s Granite Staters of the Month for continuing to lift up their fellow classmates and support community members - even from a distance - amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even before the pandemic, SWOCO members worked hard to make a difference in their community, including hosting a conference for neighboring school districts on how students could become stronger leaders in their communities. The group also partnered with the National Honor Society to organize blanket drives and food drives for Liberty House, a veterans homeless shelter.

Now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the group has taken a different approach to organizing and has started meeting over conference calls. The students organized both a student and teacher Zoom talent show in an effort to keep their classmates engaged with their school community during this challenging time. The members of SWOCO also started a Little Free Pantry project in Kearsarge, which is a grassroots movement to help members of the community who are food insecure access essentials, such as food and personal care items.

Senator Hassan launched the “Granite Stater of the Month” initiative in 2017 to recognize outstanding New Hampshire citizens who go above and beyond to help their neighbors and make their communities stronger. To nominate a New Hampshire citizen to be a “Granite Stater of the Month,” constituents can complete the nomination form here.

To read Senator Hassan’s statement for the Congressional Record recognizing SWOCO as May’s Granite Staters of the Month, see below or click here.

I am proud to recognize Kearsarge High School’s student group, Students Working on Community Outreach (SWOCO), for continuing to lift up their fellow classmates and support community members - even from a distance - amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even before the pandemic, SWOCO members worked hard to make a difference in their community. One of their most impressive accomplishments was hosting a conference for neighboring school districts on how students could become stronger leaders in their communities.

The group also partnered with the National Honor Society to organize blanket drives and food drives for Liberty House, a veterans homeless shelter.

Like so many Granite Staters, these students have needed to adjust to the new realities of this pandemic, including finding ways to organize without being in the same physical space.

Among other things, the students, who are now meeting over conference calls, organized both a student and teacher Zoom talent show in an effort to keep their classmates engaged with their school community during this challenging time.

The members of SWOCO also started a Little Free Pantry project in Kearsarge, which is a grassroots movement to help members of the community who are food insecure access essentials, such as food and personal care items. The members are coordinating all of the food pantries throughout the school district and have encouraged various student organizations to sign up to help stock the shelves.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused Granite Staters to face unprecedented challenges, but even in the face of this crisis, they are coming together to support one another. For the members of SWOCO, this pandemic may have changed how they operate, but it did not change their mission or commitment to their community and fellow citizens. Their commitment to forging ahead in difficult times to help people from all walks of life and to support their community exemplifies New Hampshire at its best. I am, above all else, grateful for their hard work and look forward to seeing what they accomplish next.   

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