Piloting smiles through Lunch Bunch

Lehigh’s Community Service Office (CSO) was established in the fall of 1996 for one purpose: to foster a sense of companionship between students, faculty and staff through service to the greater Lehigh Valley area.

The CSO currently has contacts with over 100 local agencies that regularly require volunteers. This search has piqued particular interest in volunteers for their pilot program: Lunch Bunch. 

Lunch Bunch is a mission that embarks on weekday mornings in a six-person van headed towards Donegan Elementary School on East Fourth Street. Through this program, Lehigh students volunteer to spend their mornings by the side of a child who may feel lost in the crowded cafeteria during lunch time. 

The drive behind this project, currently in its first year of production, aligns with the ideals of Lehigh’s CSO office. Caroline Mierzwa currently serves as the graduate assistant for the team.

“The projects in which the CSO has placed students in the Southside as tutors not only help them with academic subjects, but also builds the positive rapport and tries to reduce some of the harm Lehigh has caused in South Bethlehem,” Mierzwa said. “Lunch Bunch came out of that idea.”

The CSO collaborated with Rosa Carides-Hof, the community school coordinator at Donegan, to set up the program. Mierzwa was responsible for the Lehigh side of operations.

Donegan educates children from kindergarten through fifth grade. With 449 students in total, 89% are considered economically disadvantaged and receive free or reduced lunch, according to the Future Ready PA Index. 

The loud chatter of lunch hour can be overwhelming for anybody, no matter their age. So, between 11:15 a.m. and 1 p.m., Lehigh students help drown out the noise and make a child feel heard.

Morgan Adamson, ‘27, saw Lunch Bunch as an opportunity to be a necessary pair of ears for those who felt closed out. 

“I feel like a lot of these kids just need to be heard, and having someone that is completely dedicated — even if it’s just for 20 minutes to listen to them — listening to what they care about and their opinions was really important,” Adamson said. “When you can tell that they might be ignored by their peers, the kids may feel very lonely and isolated. Having someone say, ‘I’m just here to be your friend’ is really helpful, and I think it makes them establish more confidence which helps them make other friends.” 

Since Lunch Bunch is a pilot program, Mierzwa recognizes that receiving and integrating positive feedback is a key asset to keeping it alive. 

“We collected feedback, just anecdotally (and) informally, from our community school coordinator,” Mierzwa said. 

The perspectives of Lehigh volunteers like Adamson are creating a bright future for the Lunch Bunch program. 

Another Lunch Bunch mentor, Sarah Burke, ‘27, who, although she wishes she could continue visiting Donegan Elementary School through her second semester, has a class schedule that conflicts with the lunch-hour block. 

“It’s a very fulfilling experience, knowing that you’re giving back to the community and helping these kids, as lunchtime might not be their favorite part of the day,” Burke said. “Meeting with the same student in each grade allowed us to create a very strong connection where we both were very excited to see each other and share what they did or didn’t like that day.” 

The CSO office debuted the Lunch Bunch program alongside various other opportunities during the first week of school at the club fair. 

“The CSO office had this great big table with all of their volunteer services, and something that reached out to me was this little flier that said ‘Lunch Bunch,’” Burke said. “I knew I wanted to work with kids when I came to Lehigh because that’s something I had always done at home.” 

Mierzwa, as well as the two first-year students involved in the premier of Lunch Bunch, agree that the block of time it demands may be inaccessible for students due to classes. 

However, if students do have the time, the CSO suggests considering the opportunity to give back in the Southside community. 

“In general as a Lehigh student, when you go to college here for four years, not only are you a student, but you’re actively living in South Bethlehem,” Mierzwa said. 

For those who wish to join Lunch Bunch, the CSO is investing in more car seats for their van for the next semester.