NHS Carnival (NHS Ramstein)
RAMSTEIN - National Honor Society (NHS) is a prestigious organization for high achieving high schoolers all across the country. One of the main pillars of values for the group is service. On May 1, Ramstein High School’s branch of NHS held a carnival service project to collect resources for the Landstuhl Fisher House, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit aiming to help military families find housing close to hospitals in order to support their loved ones. The Landstuhl Fisher House is the only Fisher House serving the American military in Europe as of now. 96 members of NHS organized the carnival which collected over 400 pantry, cleaning and other items for Fisher House. At the carnival, Ramstein’s clubs and student organizations sold food.
According to Ms. Sarafina Buchanan, the manager for the Landstuhl Fisher House branch, the donations collected from the carnival are especially vital because
“Everything is because of donor support.”
— Ms. Sarafina Buchanan
Ms. Buchanan is also the Fisher House project manager, meaning that she helped coordinate storage and utilization of all donations. Alongside two other employees, she runs the Landstuhl Fisher House. Since Fisher House is a nonprofit organization, it relies on public donations. Ms. Buchanan added to this, stating that, “the Fisher Houses rely solely on donor dollars…. donations of supplies are always needed.” Donations go towards maintaining the House and surrounding land. Mr. Zachary Fisher, the founder of the Fisher House Foundation, originally modeled Fisher House around his own home, meaning donations are always needed to ensure quality housing for those in need while their military family members are in nearby hospitals.
.jpeg/alternates/FREE_350/CFC83DC4-0F8D-4EAB-832E-009E0CCE6259%201.jpeg)
People walking around tables (Ramstein NHS)
The planning process for the Carnival was very intensive and included “coming up with activities, dividing into committees and then, from that, eliminating activities that we felt would be impossible,” according to Ms. Rachel Harris, Ramstein’s NHS sponsor. Additionally, Ms. Harris “contacted the Fisher House and if there were things they could always use and if they had storage for the items.” Ms. Harris believes that the carnival provided “a way to get people to bring in things that the Fisher House needs.” The NHS Carnival has been occurring since 2018, with breaks in 2020 and 2021. It was the second of two large-scale service projects that NHS coordinates each year.
For further information on Fisher House volunteer opportunities, visit their website, https://fisherhouse.org/programs/houses/current-houses/germany-landstuhl-regional-medical-center-i-ii-army. Donations of pantry and house items like cleaning supplies are also always welcome. Volunteer opportunities are open to students and adults and include cooking, baking, outdoor work and more.
