2023 AAA South Jersey Scholarship Winner
Additionally, For the Love of Pete’s Pantry NJ was awarded a $1,000 donation as a result of Colin’s selection.
VOORHEES, N.J. (April 14, 2023) -- For Colin Kirk, a Sunday ritual of baking brownies turned into a $2,500 scholarship. Colin, a senior at Haddon Heights High School, is the winner of this year’s AAA South Jersey high school scholarship contest. Additionally, For the Love of Pete’s Pantry NJ was awarded a $1,000 donation as a result of Colin’s selection.
The contest returned with a fresh new format in 2023. For the first time, eligible students were asked to submit a short video rather than a written essay. The topic: Following several years of pandemic hardships, now is a critical time for a growing number of people in need. How do you support local charities? Why is giving back to your community important to you?
Colin excelled with the new format, featuring his work with local nonprofit For the Love of Pete’s Pantry New Jersey.
The organization, founded around three years ago, helps a large array of those in need – newborn babies, domestic violence survivors, and the homeless. Jeanne Rodrigues, the daughter of Pete, founded the nonprofit with her family.
"We used to say grace a lot in the house and there's a prayer [Pete] would always add in: 'May God provide for the wants of the poor and the homeless.' He always added that part and that was a big thing to him. He's been gone now for 23 years but that sort of always stayed with us kids growing up and that's what sort of sparked us to start something,” Rodrigues said.
Colin, who is a member of Haddon Heights High School’s Garnet and Gold community service club, began working with For the Love of Pete’s Pantry a few years ago.
"My parents just started bringing me to it sporadically in the start, not super frequently and then we started to pick it up more and more. And I go like every Sunday now just to help out,” Colin said.
Now, back to the brownies. Every Sunday, you could find Colin at Aviator Park in Philadelphia, handing out homemade brownies to those in need as part of the pantry’s Treats on the Street program.
As the temperatures began to drop in the fall, an idea sparked in Colin’s brain.
"It started to get cold pretty quickly and I looked around and I saw a lot of people didn't have the best shoe wear -- a lot of holes, a lot of stuff like that in their shoes. So, I figured that would probably be a good place to start. I wanted to do something more so I figured that would be a good way to start, especially with the winter coming,” he said.
Happy Feet on the Street was born. As featured in his video contest submission, Colin collected 225 pairs of shoes and raised more than $2,000. He then distributed the goods to Philadelphians in need around the holiday season.
“The reason I continue to come out here every week is because, whether it be food or clothing, I believe that every human deserves to have their basic needs met,” Colin said in his video.
Colin will be attending the University of Vermont in the fall to study Wildlife and Fisheries Biology. If you are interested in volunteering with For the Love of Pete’s Pantry, click here to find out more.
"We're always looking for sandwiches and baked goods, anything we can take out to feed the homeless on Sundays. Once we get through the summer, we do a little bit of back to school stuff,” Rodrigues said of their upcoming events.
