Spartan Online

In Their Founders' Footsteps

It was an event that would have made Mr. and Mrs. Hershey proud. On a summer Sunday in August, MHS students, faculty, staff, and alumni across the country, along with employees of The Hershey Company, launched the School's Centennial Celebration with the first-ever Milton Hershey National Volunteer Day.

Honoring the School's founders and their legacy of service, students and staff spread out across Lancaster, Lebanon, and Dauphin counties, where they volunteered for dozens of projects - including cleaning up parks and animal shelters, stocking food banks, and visiting nursing home residents. MHS alumni nationwide sponsored and participated in volunteer events in their communities.

"Part of Milton Hershey's legacy was his selfless giving and caring for others in need, and these are the core values of MHS," says Dr. Anthony Colistra '59, MHS President. "Therefore, in celebration of our centennial, we feel the best way to honor Milton Hershey is to give back."

But performing community service is about more than honoring the founders' legacy - it's an important means of building good character in students.

"By doing community service, our students learn that there are others who are less fortunate then they are," Dr. Colistra says. "They also learn that they have something to offer them."