For Immediate Release

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
Email: [email protected]

King Philip High School Students Receive Gold Presidential Volunteer Service Awards

WRENTHAM — Superintendent Paul Zinni is pleased to announce that two King Philip Regional High School students, Simone Barger and Meg Swezey, have been awarded Gold Presidential Volunteer Service Awards.

Barger, a senior, and Swezey, a junior, are co-presidents of KP Cares, a community service club at KP High, and were nominated for the Presidential Volunteer Service Awards by King Philip Regional High School Principal Lisa Mobley. Both students have been active in KP Cares since their freshmen year, and served as board members of the group before they were chosen as co-presidents. Swezey will serve as co-president of the club next school year as well.

“These two young woman truly exemplify the meaning of selflessness and what it means to give back to a community,” said Cheryl Rowe, the student adviser of KP Cares. “I cannot wait to see how they change the world.”

In April 2018, Barger and Swezey were among 36 students who traveled to Costa Rica for a KP Cares service trip. Students on the trip brought donations to an orphanage, helped a local family refurbish their farm to offer horse therapy to children with disabilities and planted trees in a reforestation project.

Swezey is also currently involved in planning a service trip for KP Cares to the Dominican Republic in April 2020. The club will be partnering with the DREAM education program during the trip and will volunteer at a school in the Cabarete area to combat the effects of poverty and foster community enrichment.

Barger and Swezey have each chaired several KP Cares events this year as well, often setting up, volunteering and cleaning up after fundraisers and other service based events. Swezey co-chaired the group’s ‘kindness month’ earlier this school year, and was also co-chair of the Giving Tree, a student drive that accepts donated gifts for local families in need during the holidays. Barger also co-chaired the Giving Tree drive this year, as well as Putting 4 Patients, a mini-golf event that raises money for The Jimmy Fund and the Fight Back Festival, an event that raises money for local families struggling with cancer.

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