"High School Students Host Pizza Party for Special Needs Classrooms,"
By Nathan Grant
Everyone Loves Pizza is a student organization at Cincinnati Country Day School in Cincinnati, Ohio. While commonly referred to as “Pizza Club,” Everyone Loves Pizza is about much more than eating pizza. It is also about donating pizza to individuals in need. On February 8, 2016, the Everyone Loves Pizza club hosted a pizza party for two special needs classrooms from the Loveland High School and the Clermont County Developmental Disability Adult Program. Usually, Everyone Loves Pizza donates food by traveling to organizations around the city. This time, however, the club invited 30 individuals with special needs to join high school students and faculty for a pizza party.
Members from the Everyone Loves Pizza club provided a variety of food options for the special needs classrooms. In addition to lots of pizza, there was also pasta, salad, fruit trays, cookies, and cake. There was a lot of food, and everything was delicious.
Members from Everyone Loves Pizza were paired with one to two students from the special needs classrooms. In addition to serving food, Country Day students had the opportunity to talk to the newcomers. Many students explained that prior to this event, they did not know what to do when they encountered someone “different.” By talking with those who had special needs, Country Day students learned what it is like to live with a disability.
“To me, they aren’t different people,” says Kendall Smith, a senior at Country Day. “We are all the same at the end of the day.”
This event demonstrated that people with special needs can still live a happy life, regardless of their disability. While some of these children were in wheelchairs or were unable to talk, they could still smile. They could still laugh. They could still eat pizza and have fun– and that makes all the difference.
While club members were serving food, the high school Saxophone Quartet performed two songs. After their performance, high school sophomore Vincent DiFrancesco played Adele’s “Hello” on the electric violin.
“The music was very soothing and uplifting,” explains Simone Burnett, Co-Leader of Everyone Loves Pizza. “There was an extremely happy atmosphere, and everyone enjoyed the party.”
After serving the delicious pizza and listening to the wonderful music, club members continued their conversations with the special needs students. “They are just like us in a way,” says Burnett. “They go to school and they enjoy eating pizza. I really liked my conversation with them, and I was pleased to see how easy and fun it was to talk to them.”
Students enjoyed the pizza party, and Everyone Loves Pizza plans on doing something similar again. “This lunch shows just how altruistic in nature Everyone Loves Pizza is,” explains Ms. Floyd, Director of Community Service at Country Day. “The club is about so much more than pizza. It is about being able to sit down and bridge the gap between eating and sharing with others.”
Everyone Loves Pizza teaches us how something as simple as food can bring smiles to both the sick and the healthy. We are all similar in that we all enjoy eating great food. After all, everyone loves pizza!
To learn more about Everyone Loves Pizza, please visit www.clubpizza.net.
Siblings with a Mission is an international organization established to serve and support siblings of individuals with special needs. All images are found on Google images and are solely used for education purposes. The stories and advice provided by Siblings with a Mission are not to be replaced by professional advice and counseling but to be considered as an additional source of support.
By Nathan Grant
Everyone Loves Pizza is a student organization at Cincinnati Country Day School in Cincinnati, Ohio. While commonly referred to as “Pizza Club,” Everyone Loves Pizza is about much more than eating pizza. It is also about donating pizza to individuals in need. On February 8, 2016, the Everyone Loves Pizza club hosted a pizza party for two special needs classrooms from the Loveland High School and the Clermont County Developmental Disability Adult Program. Usually, Everyone Loves Pizza donates food by traveling to organizations around the city. This time, however, the club invited 30 individuals with special needs to join high school students and faculty for a pizza party.
Members from the Everyone Loves Pizza club provided a variety of food options for the special needs classrooms. In addition to lots of pizza, there was also pasta, salad, fruit trays, cookies, and cake. There was a lot of food, and everything was delicious.
Members from Everyone Loves Pizza were paired with one to two students from the special needs classrooms. In addition to serving food, Country Day students had the opportunity to talk to the newcomers. Many students explained that prior to this event, they did not know what to do when they encountered someone “different.” By talking with those who had special needs, Country Day students learned what it is like to live with a disability.
“To me, they aren’t different people,” says Kendall Smith, a senior at Country Day. “We are all the same at the end of the day.”
This event demonstrated that people with special needs can still live a happy life, regardless of their disability. While some of these children were in wheelchairs or were unable to talk, they could still smile. They could still laugh. They could still eat pizza and have fun– and that makes all the difference.
While club members were serving food, the high school Saxophone Quartet performed two songs. After their performance, high school sophomore Vincent DiFrancesco played Adele’s “Hello” on the electric violin.
“The music was very soothing and uplifting,” explains Simone Burnett, Co-Leader of Everyone Loves Pizza. “There was an extremely happy atmosphere, and everyone enjoyed the party.”
After serving the delicious pizza and listening to the wonderful music, club members continued their conversations with the special needs students. “They are just like us in a way,” says Burnett. “They go to school and they enjoy eating pizza. I really liked my conversation with them, and I was pleased to see how easy and fun it was to talk to them.”
Students enjoyed the pizza party, and Everyone Loves Pizza plans on doing something similar again. “This lunch shows just how altruistic in nature Everyone Loves Pizza is,” explains Ms. Floyd, Director of Community Service at Country Day. “The club is about so much more than pizza. It is about being able to sit down and bridge the gap between eating and sharing with others.”
Everyone Loves Pizza teaches us how something as simple as food can bring smiles to both the sick and the healthy. We are all similar in that we all enjoy eating great food. After all, everyone loves pizza!
To learn more about Everyone Loves Pizza, please visit www.clubpizza.net.
Siblings with a Mission is an international organization established to serve and support siblings of individuals with special needs. All images are found on Google images and are solely used for education purposes. The stories and advice provided by Siblings with a Mission are not to be replaced by professional advice and counseling but to be considered as an additional source of support.