(Photo courtesy of College Possible)

On a wet Saturday morning more than 100 College Possible students braved the cold to collect non-perishable food items as part of Make a Difference Day. The national day of service, celebrated on October 28, involved students from 13 area high schools who went door-to-door collecting non-perishable goods for Milwaukee-based Hunger Task Force.

The students and their College Possible coaches canvased four different Milwaukee neighborhoods and collected 4,312 pounds of food, 200 more pounds than the previous year.

“It was fun doing to something to benefit others and knowing that people care,” said Da’lin, a senior at Riverside University High School.

Establishing service opportunities for students is central to College Possible, a college access program for low-income Milwaukee students. For many students, Make a Difference Day was their first experience in community service.

“A lot of us were shaky at first,” said Marissa, a junior at Hamilton High School. “But you started to realize you were around good people and it was really nice to know that we could make a difference in our community.”

The students’ hard work paid off and they were able to make a significant contribution to benefit hungry populations in Milwaukee.

“The students at College Possible Milwaukee continue to raise the bar during Make a Difference Day,” said Sherrie Tussler, executive director of Hunger Task Force. “Over the past four years, these students raised nearly 15,000 pounds of food for Hunger Task Force. They are definitely making an ongoing impact for plenty of hungry Milwaukee families.”

Aside from the dreary weather conditions and several barking dogs, students had a great time collecting items for the Hunger Task Force.

“We met a lot of nice people,” said Vincent High School junior Jasmine. “One house had ten boxes of food to donate and that was amazing.”

College Possible has participated in Make a Difference Day for nearly 10 years and each year it provides students an opportunity to give back to the community that supports them.

“My favorite part was helping out in the community and contributing in any way I can,” said Neyde, a senior at St. Thomas More High School. “People were really nice.”

About College Possible: College Possible is a nationally-growing nonprofit organization making college admission and success possible for low-income students through an intensive curriculum of coaching and support. College Possible Milwaukee was established in 2008 and was recently named one of Milwaukee’s ‘Best Places to Work.’ College Possible Milwaukee serves 4,000 students each year through programming in 15 partner high schools and partnerships with numerous local colleges. Last year, 98% of College Possible students earned admission to college. Findings of a Harvard University study show that College Possible’s approach to unlocking the potential of low-income students is effective and that students served are significantly more likely to enroll in a four-year college.