Heritage students visited Otterbein University on October 3.
Otterbein University students from Patti Wilson’s First Year Seminar course, Discovering and Developing Your Strengths, have been working alongside 25 selected 6th grade pupils and teacher Anne Bates, from Westerville’s Heritage Middle School, on a six-week-long project to learn and apply their individual strengths to organize a community wide event.
The event is the third annual Westerville Hunger Heroes 5K & 1M Fun Run to raise awareness and funds to fight hunger in Westerville. The run will take place at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 28, in North’s Jim McCann Stadium, located at 950 County Line Road. Cost is $10 for students, $25 for adults, and $50 for families of four (t-shirts are included). Proceeds will go to Share Bac A Pac, a program at the Westerville Area Resource Ministry (W.A.R.M.) that provides food on the weekends to school age students in need; and Otterbein’s Promise House, a student initiative to help university pupils who may be struggling with food insecurity or other financial issues. The registration link is https://runsignup.com/Race/OH/Westerville/WestervilleHungerHeroes5KandFunRun.
All of the students in the Strengths-Based Leadership Development project have taken the age appropriate Clifton Strengths survey. After completing the survey, each pupil got a list of his or her Top Strengths. Throughout the six-week program they are working on activities together to understand more about their strengths and how to apply them to different aspects of life including relationships, academics, careers and leadership. As part of the project, they are using those strengths and serving on committees to plan, implement and evaluate the Westerville Hunger Heroes event.