LT volunteers package aid meals at Pack for Impact event on Jan. 20 at Feed My Starving Children in Schaumburg (Moran/LION).

Following last year’s immense success at the first ever Pack For Impact event at LT, 115 students from National Honor Society (NHS) and student council continued this tradition in a new way: a day of service to honor Martin Luther King Jr. at the Feed My Starving Children Schaumburg location.

Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) is a nonprofit organization that supplies and coordinates food packing events for children in hunger crises around the world. To celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, LT has begun a tradition of partnering with FMSC to honor this day of service annually. 

“MLK was all about service [and] he was all about sacrifice,” NHS sponsor Drew Magis said. “Time is energy and we want to make sure LT students are doing the same thing and honoring his legacy.”

Last year, LT held the first mobile event in the SC fieldhouse, but due to FMSC scheduling conflicts, they were not able to support the event at LT campuses this time around, SC Associate Principal Greg Gardner said. Gardner was assigned the role of helping coordinate the event with FMSC by submitting participants names, organizing the transportation, and making sure everything was in check on the day of service. 

Participants met at the SC main doors at 8 a.m. on Jan. 20 and were bused to the FMSC Schaumburg location. Despite the location change, 115 dedicated students attended the event and were able to pack 36,288 meals for children in need within approximately two hours. Through the efforts of LT students and volunteers, FMSC will be able to provide 99 children with food for an entire year. 

“I think the energy that everyone brought was astounding,” NHS member Avery Jasinski ‘24 said. “You could tell that everyone there wanted to be there and help and be a part of this organization. The most fulfilling thing is the idea of being selfless: we know we can make an impact on kids around the world who don’t have as much as we do. It’s the idea of giving back and making a difference.”
While there was a large turnout at the Schaumburg event, sponsors hope to hold the event at LT’s very own SC next year to gain even more participants, Gardner said. 

“[It] is a large financial obligation to host a mobile pack event, and through the generous donations of our students, staff, and local partners, we are able to cover the event costs and provide a wonderful service experience for our school community,” Gardner said. 

LT has two Gold Impact Sponsors, FNBC Bank and Trust and Jill Daniels LLC, who have contributed donations to aid in the 2025 Pack for Impact event that will be hosted by LT next year. 

“Any time we can dedicate time to service, we are growing our capacity for compassion, empathy, and concern for others,” Gardner said. “I believe the most important aspect of this opportunity is our LT community coming together to help serve others.”