Warwick High School student awarded Sodexo Youth Foundation Grant

PINE ISLAND — Warwick High School Junior Victoria Garloch, 16, who this year became the youngest person to be awarded the Orange County Human Rights Commission Award, recently received a grant from the Sodexo Youth Foundation, in partnership with Youth Service America, for a dinner she organized on April 26, Global Youth Services Day. The event took place at Vision Community Church in the former Pine Island Elementary School.

The $500 grant was also matched by Glenn P. and Susan D. Dickes of Warwick.

In 2011, Garloch, the daughter of David and Carrie Garloch of Sugar Loaf, spearheaded the establishment of the Warwick Community Kitchen at the former Pine Island Elementary School.

Her latest project was to provide a dinner, prepared and served by student and adult volunteers, for the community as well as a bag lunch for the following day.

Information on the statistics of childhood hunger, hunger prevention and listings of local food pantries and soup kitchens was made available at the event.

Following the dinner, the children also enjoyed an After Easter Egg Hunt.

Volunteers for the evening came from the Warwick Valley School District, other local communities and Girl Scout Troop 627.

Garloch felt that since the Warwick Community Kitchen was started as a Girl Scout project, she wanted to offer the girls the same leadership opportunities she had been given.

The mission of Youth Service America, which partners with organizations like the Sodexo Youth Foundation, is to improve communities by increasing the number and the diversity of young people, ages five to 25, serving in substantive roles.

- Roger Gavan