SEASON OF GIVING
Trenton’s Young Scholars Institute hosts event benefiting dozens of families in need >>
TRENTON >> Talk about compassion and giving back.
Forty families received food, clothing and wrapped gifts Saturday as Village Elementary School in Montgomery Township and Young Scholars Institute in Trenton partnered up to uplift the less fortunate.
“It’s gotten bigger and better every year,” Village Elementary Principal Susan Lacy said of the annual tradition that began in the 1990s. “It’s a service project. We love it. Every year we have more staff from our school come out.”
The Young Scholars Institute, also known as YSI, is a nonprofit afterschool learning center based at 349 West State St. providing educational, cultural and recreational activities for students in grades pre-kindergarten through 12, whereas Village Elementary is a public school in Montgomery Township, Somerset County, about 18 miles away from YSI.
Steve Smotrich, treasurer of the YSI Board of Trustees, knows the history all too well on how Village Elementary and Young Scholars Institute first partnered up to benefit needy children during the holidays.
“My family started it probably around 1994,” said Smotrich, who had children enrolled at Village Elementary back then. “We saw it as a way to do something for families who aren’t as fortunate.”
About 15 to 20 families received food and gifts in the inaugural year of the service project, which has since expanded to include more families and the donation of new or gently used clothing. “It’s amazing,” Smotrich said of the event’s annual growth. Some of the families this year received new bicycles, and every family received food comprising turkey, pie and all the fixings.
Students and educators at Village Elementary began organizing this year’s service project in October, according to project coordinator Valerie Hum, a fourth-grade teacher. “We filled a box truck with all the clothing, gifts and food,” she said, adding her students “were really invested in making sure they got things that they thought other kids would like.”
With stacks of boys clothing, girls attire and adult wear being spread in three separate rooms at the Young Scholars Institute, “I can’t believe the school brought all of this stuff,” Dr. Ruppert Hawes, president of the YSI Board of Trustees, said Saturday at the event. “This is a big effort. They didn’t slap this together in two weeks. This is a concerted effort for a long time.”
Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora stopped by and expressed delight at Saturday’s event. “Young Scholars has always been a great institution for the city,” he said. “We want to come out and support them.”
Jerri Morrison, a former Trenton Public Schools English teacher and associate director of admissions at Princeton University, founded YSI nearly 30 years ago to help provide students with supplemental support, including tutoring services, to help them excel in the classroom and beyond.
“I think it’s important that we make a way for the next generation,” Morrison said. “We’ll have some students come to us as high achievers; they just don’t know how to make the next steps happen.”
YSI tutor Eric Song, 17, a senior Princeton High School student, said it “feels really nice” to assist other students in academia. “I know there’s kids here who don’t get the education I get at Princeton High School,” he said. “I’m contributing. It feels good. At the end of the day, it’s something to be proud of.”
The Young Scholars Institute provides tutoring assistance to students like Quenton Beyah , 17, who said the program has helped him tackle algebra equations. “It made my work a lot easier coming here,” he said. “I am very thankful.”
Danay Moody, 15, said she has also benefited from being enrolled in the YSI afterschool program. “It helps me in my school work,” she said. “I get to stay on top of honor roll, and I get to meet new people.”
Tai Tatum, 17, is a senior Lawrenceville School student who has volunteered with YSI as a tutor and counselor. “To keep on coming back and seeing the kids grow, it shows you’ve had an impact,” he said. “It’s meaningful.”
Tatum, who plans to attend Harvard University next year as an economics major, attended Saturday’s event at YSI, witnessing the camaraderie and grateful families. “I enjoy coming back for these events,” he said.