A group of high school students in Florida have dedicated their lunch breaks to making sure none of their classmates have to eat alone.
Members of the club, called We Dine Together, walk around Boca Raton Community High School at lunchtime getting to know students who are sat on their own.
Denis Estimon was one of four teenagers who helped found the group. A Haitian immigrant, he said he felt “isolated” when he first moved to the US in the first grade, especially at lunch time.
“It’s not a good feeling, like you’re by yourself, and that’s something I don’t want anyone to go through,” Estimon told the Sun Sentinel.
The high school senior said that since the election, his club has an even bigger purpose as some students have been told they are going to be deported.
“To me it’s like ... if we don’t try and go make that change, who’s going to do it?” he added.
Allie Sealy, who also helped organise the club, got emotional while remembering what it was like to sit alone at lunch.
“Meeting someone who actually cares and listens to what you have to say really makes a difference,” she told interviewer Steve Hartman. “And that could happen at lunch, that could happen at our club.”
Viewers who watched Hartman’s piece, which aired on CBS for his “On The Road” segment, praised the club members for extending a helping hand.
We Dine Together hope that other high schools will be inspired to found their own groups.
Last year, Californian teen Natalie Hampton made headlines when she designed an app to help students avoid sitting alone at lunch.