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Grace Farren, Alums Make Their Mark in Community Service

by Angie Drakulich
Grace Farren '11 did a wonderful thing during her sophomore year at Ranney School. She started her own charitable organization appropriately called “Grace’s Gift” to benefit victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence throughout Monmouth County. The organization donates 100 percent of its proceeds to Amanda’s Easel in Hazlet, New Jersey. Amanda’s Easel serves as the art therapy division of “180 Turning Lives Around,” which is a Monmouth County shelter for abused women of domestic violence. That year, Grace designed and sold T-shirts that stated: “I am loved, I am respected, I have a purpose, I am strong.” And as a 15-year-old, she also organized and hosted a benefit concert called “Raise Your Voice for 180” at the Stone Pony restaurant in Asbury Park. More than 250 people attended the event, which raised more than $17,000 for “180 Turning Lives Around.”

Fast-forward five years to today, Grace is entering her junior year at New York University, where she’s majoring in nutrition and dietetics. Her younger siblings, Miles and Claire, are beginning their ninth- and second-grade years as Ranney panthers. And Grace’s Gift is still going strong, with Grace at its head, having raised more than $25,000 for Amanda’s Easel since 2008. The most recent benefit concert was in August 2012 at McLoone’s Supper Club in Asbury Park.

“College has been going great,” the alum told Ranney in an interview over the summer. “I can't believe I’m already half way done! I have thoroughly enjoyed my nutrition classes thus far and this coming semester, I’ll be involved in NYU’s Vegetarian Cooking Club with a fellow Ranney alum, Jonathan Rosenthal '12, which I’m very excited about.”

Thinking back to why she started her nonprofit, Grace says, “I was so fortunate growing up, with an incredibly supportive family and then with such a caring community at Ranney, that I decided I wanted to give back to the community. I couldn’t think of a better organization to benefit from the efforts of the community, friends, family and businesses than Amanda’s Easel and 180 Turning Lives Around. I wanted to give back to those less fortunate than myself.”

Grace received several awards during high school for her community service and fundraising work, including the 2011 Aspiring Youth Award, based on nominations from her teachers at Ranney. Given at the 26th Annual Golden Osprey Awards, the award honors impact on the community through exceptional academic capabilities, extracurricular involvement in the school and steadfast community outreach initiatives. Also in 2011, Grace was a top runner-up in the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards competition, which honors young Americans for outstanding acts of community service. As one of six top runners-up from the state of New Jersey, Grace received a Distinguished Finalist bronze medallion. She also earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award, recognizing Americans of all ages who volunteer significant amounts of time to serving their communities and the country. Grace received a certificate and congratulatory letter from the president. Ranney also honored Grace as well with its Gershom Tomlinson Humanitarian Award during the 2011 Commencement Ceremony. Since high school, she has received four Joint Resolutions from the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey for her community service.

The commendations are well deserved. Each benefit requires months of planning, promotion and behind-the-scenes management. Luckily, Grace formed committees to help manage each event. In addition to her parents and family members, Ranney students Madison Pflaster ’14 and Jenna DiSalvo ’14 have helped out in the past as have Ranney teachers, including Ms. Ina Gurman and Ms. Kate Greenberg. Grace also reached out to area schools and in 2012, worked with a senior at Manasquan High School to market and sell tickets for a benefit.

While at Ranney, Grace was a star tennis player. Not only did she serve as team captain of the Varsity Girls’ Tennis team, but with Grace on the roster, the team won its third consecutive New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public ‘B’ South Sectional title in the fall of 2010, and its first-ever New Jersey Independent School Athletic Association (NJISAA) Prep ‘B’ State Championship in 2009. She also won the Prep ‘B’ State Championship in doubles in 2009 with fellow student Mariel Pearl '11. Off the court, Grace served as a member of the National Honor Society, a Ranney School Admissions Ambassador, Vice President of Habitat for Humanity and a Ranney Summer Camp Counselor.

“I have developed an even stronger sense of humility and gratitude through my community service work,” says Grace. She encourages current students to get involved as well. “If you're drawn to a cause, then pursue it! There's always a need. But you need to make a change for a difference to be made. Donate your time, your skills, your knowledge—anything—to a worthwhile cause and it will make all the difference both in your life and the lives you touch,” she says.

Grace credits Ranney for helping her get where she is today. “The school helped to mold me in to the person I am today,” she says. “The support of the faculty and administration helped me in leaps and bounds, both educationally and otherwise. Whether it was Mr. Zanowski’s constant words of encouragement, Dr. Delgado’s strict sense of structure, Señora Gurman’s positive praise or Mr. Gance’s fierce belief in his students, it made all the difference. I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.”

After college, Grace hopes to work as a nutritionist to educate people about alternative, natural dietary lifestyles. And she plans to continue he work with Grace’s Gift. In fact, she’s planning her next benefit concert, called “Raise Your Voice for 180,” to take place in 2014—the details about date and location are coming soon. For more information or to contribute, email graces.gift@yahoo.com.
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Tel. 732.542.4777
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