CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — St. Anne’s-Belfield School hosted its annual Day of Service event, with close to 90 volunteers helping to pack 14,040 meals for Rise Against Hunger on Monday.

The event was open to all STAB students and their families and was the school’s fifth with Rise Against Hunger over the past two-and-a-half years. The nonprofit served people in 41 countries in 2024, according to its most recent impact report, and also works to provide education, sustainable agriculture and clean water support to communities in need of long-term solutions to food security.

“They’re really able to help rejuvenate and support communities as a whole,” STAB Director of Civic Engagement Bob Troy told Cville Right Now, “which really does fit with our mission as a school, where we want our students to be strong in a body, broad of mind, tender of heart, responsive in soul. They’re similar hitting on all these cylinders.”

Troy added events with Rise Against Hunger are great for STAB because they allow the school’s entire student body, from those as young as 2-years-old to high school seniors, to participate in the event.

“The earlier we’re able to have students see the impact they can have from giving some of their time and have an understanding of what they can do for people both far and near,” he said, “the more it’s going to become really part of their character, about what they do in the world.”

Co-Student Body President and Senior Holden Roberts was there with his fellow house members from the School’s Residential Life Program. He told Cville Right Now the students at STAB pride themselves on community service.

Despite the fact there has been a community service requirement for upper school students that, while being phased out, still applies to the seniors, Monday’s event did not count toward that requirement, meaning all the students were there by choice.

“I think that’s something that is hard to see in a lot of schools, are student that are so eager to do it themselves,” he said, “and it’s nice to see like the little changes that we’re able to make in this community and then in the whole country, and then ultimately the world.”

The atmosphere inside the event was lively and energetic, with music playing and volunteers of all ages helping pack up meals. Roberts said many of the volunteers were working together despite meeting each other for the first time that morning.

“Ultimately, we all have the same goal,” he said. “So when we get going together, there’s really no other atmosphere than just outgoing upbeat atmosphere.”

Sheila Russ, the Partnership Manager for the Rise Against Hunger team in Richmond said the impact events like this have is “incredible.”

“We only have about 100 full-time employees, and then probably maybe another 30-40 active part-time employees,” she said, “and so we couldn’t do it without the volunteers. It just wouldn’t happen.”

She added that with the 90 volunteers at STAB’s event, they were on pace to package 14,000 meals in about an hour-and-a-half.

“It’s amazing the impact that can be made when a lot of people come together,” she said.

Russ also said she loved to see the eagerness of so many young people willing to help out, a major reason why she loves to work with school groups like STAB.

“One of the things I’ve noticed since I’ve been doing this is that younger generations are excited about doing something good,” she said, “about giving something back, about making a difference in a way that is fantastic.”