Kira Sarine’s Senior Project raises money for Backpack Snack Attack

Warwick Valley High School’s Kira Sarine recently ran a cornhole tournament for her Senior Project that raised $4,592 for the Backpack Snack Attack program.

Senior project advisor Nick DiLeo said Kira came into school the Monday after the tournament shaking with excitement because of the amount of money that was raised.  The tournament was held at the Greenwood Lake American Legion.

“This is one of the highest grossing charitable donations we’ve ever had in the Senior Project program,” Mr. DiLeo said. “Kira is a dedicated and ambitious young woman. She has had focus and drive since the beginning of the year, and it shows through the success of her cornhole tournament to benefit the Backpack Snack Attack program. She is truly thriving in the program.”

Kathleen Holder, the Village Clerk of Greenwood Lake, and Jenna Price, Director of Backpack Snack Attack, mentored Kira on the project, which aimed to bring attention to the topic of food insecurity. Ms. Price said Kira’s donation will feed about 300 children for three to four weeks.

“Kira knew she wanted to give back to her community and boy did she.” Ms. Price said.  “We are so amazed by Kira. She is a true rock star. Thank you so much to Kira, all the volunteers and the community for your generous support”

Kira said she was not planning on cutting off the number of entrants to the tournament, but then so many teams signed up that they couldn’t fit any more. The winners of the tournament and the 50-50 all donated their money back to Backpack Snack Attack.

Senior Project is a nationally-recognized program that combines project-based learning, real-world performance opportunities and professional networking, to give its participants invaluable know-how, insight, and experience into the fields of study that interest them most. The program’s advisors are DiLeo and Jeanine Fogler.