Pond Road Middle School student launched food drive.
ROBBINSVILLE — The Trenton-based Molina Medicaid Solutions New Jersey recently honored Pond Road Middle School student Jaden Weiss for his volunteerism and service.
Jaden, 12, was recognized at the second annual Community Champions Awards event May 2 for launching the “King or Queen of the Sea or Pond” food drive, collecting tuna for the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank.
Jaden’s tuna drive collected 61 pounds of food for the food bank, all done without adult guidance.
On top of this, Jaden earned his school a Division Spirit Award, Overall Spirit Champion Award and sixth place overall for the statewide Governor’s Cup Award.
”What’s even more incredible than his success with this food drive is that this was not Jaden’s first volunteer project,” said Susan Baird, executive account manager for Molina Medicaid Solutions New Jersey. “He and his younger brother have already been helping with food delivery to those in transitional housing through an interfaith program as part of their regular volunteer efforts.”
The tuna drive project was part of the Students Change Hunger 2012 One Million Food Drive Challenge, a statewide competition to encourage students, pre-kindergarten through college, to collect food and funds for their local food bank.
The competition collected 13,068 pounds of food, donated by 14 participating schools, including Jaden’s.
Established to honor the memory of Molina Healthcare’s founder Dr. C. David Molina, the Community Champions award program spotlights the good deeds of everyday heroes in their communities. Molina has been hosting the Community Champions Awards for seven years in the states that it operates. The winners are nominated by community-based organizations.
For his efforts, Jaden was awarded a $1,000 grant, which was designated to the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank.

