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How little Hanover Academy students are making a BIG impact on their community

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HANOVER COUNTY, Va. -- As the saying goes, big things sometimes come in small packages. The Hanover Academy in Ashland is a pre-K thru 8th grade private school. One of the big lessons they stress from the age of two is about community service.

Donating to Lamb's Basket

"I don't think you wake up at 25 years old and think, 'I'm going to go and help the community,'" Head of School Rebecca Thomas said. "It has to be part of breathing.  You have to start out when they're really young."

It’s a lesson 7th grade student Benjamin Conley put into action. He spoke with teachers and classmates about an idea to collect 300 cans of food for Lamb’s Basket.

"It's going to help the homeless," Benjamin said. "They serve about 75 people a day. We got to tour the place and it was awesome! And there were people waiting outside to get food."

Other students jumped on board, right away.

"We collected cans that didn't have to be refrigerated," 3rd grade student Isabella Biehl said. "It was going to help people not go to bed hungry and then go to bed full."

"We talked about what a great cause it was," Ms. Thomas said. "Before we knew it, we had 600. Then the next thing we had a 1,000. We had over 1,300 items that we collected."

"It feels like I'm helping a part in the community," Benjamin said. "Like all parts of the community."

A good lesson, leading to a good deed... is Building Better Minds.

If you're interested in learning more about Hanover Academy, they're hosting an Open House in March. Registration is available on their website.