Special Education teacher starts nonprofit to provide fresh fruit to the needy

By Staff Writer Christine Dong

Harvest Helpers is a budding nonprofit organization initiated by Special Education Teacher Stephanie Atwell that aims to supply fresh fruit to the community. Atwell intends that Harvest Helpers will give students easy access to service hours, both on-campus and off-campus. Students will also gain valuable experience in organizational skills, business skills, networking, teamwork, and communication along with  hands-on experience with physical labor.

As members of Harvest Helpers, students will pick fruit from the trees of local homeowners and distribute the fruit to nearby food banks, churches, and soup kitchens where people in need can access it. Other responsibilities will include contacting fruit tree owners, recording the amount of produce harvested, and designing informative flyers and postcards.

Atwell will also be holding an art contest within the upcoming months to create a logo for Harvest Helpers which will be used on their flyers, t-shirts, and website. The logo’s design should represent the goals and activities of Harvest Helpers while also representing the sense of community that arises when distributing resources to those in need. Participants will also have the chance to win Beats headphones, Skullcandy wireless headphones, or various art supplies if their design is chosen.

If interested in joining Harvest Helpers, learning more about the organization, or participating in their upcoming logo design art contest, students should contact Atwell through School Loop or through her email satwell@fremont.k12.ca.us. She can also be spoken to directly at her classroom, B19.

Graphic by Graphics Editor Eva Chang