CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD)- More than 100 Porter-Gaud seniors gathered at the school on Friday to pack thousands of meals for those facing hunger in the Lowcountry.

The project was part of the school’s annual ‘Senior Day of Caring,’ an initiative started 15 years ago to help students connect with the greater Charleston community through service.

The school teamed up with Minneapolis-based food aid nonprofit Harvest Pack to package roughly 25,280 bags of oatmeal that will be delivered to those in need.

“Obviously academics are extremely important to us at this school but service to our community is engrained in our soul,” Porter-Gaud Director of Community Service Gretchen Tate said. “Dr. Porter founded this school to really give back to the community so we honor his legacy every day.” 

At least 10,000 of the meals will be delivered to James Island Outreach, according to Harvest Pack officials.

In addition to the meal-packing, students spent the afternoon volunteering at six different nonprofits across the area, including Habitat for Humanity, Hallie Hill Animal Sanctuary, Lowcountry Food Bank, Lowcountry Orphan Relief, Neighborhood House, and Water Mission.

We successfully packaged 25,280 meals at the project with 10,000 of these meals going to James Island Outreach