Every November at Immaculata-La Salle, the halls fill with more than the usual hum of students heading to class. Boxes begin to appear; big, empty, hopeful. And with them comes the spirit of the Maria Garces Wishbone Project, an initiative led each year by the school’s National Honor Society.
The project began with Ms. Maria Garces, a beloved Social Studies teacher whose compassion for the families living just beyond the school walls shaped one of ILS’s most meaningful traditions. She believed that no family in the community should face the stress of an empty table during the holidays. Even as she battled cancer, she continued working on Wishbone, ensuring every detail was in place for families who needed help the most. When she passed, the school renamed the initiative the Maria Garces Wishbone Project, honoring the heart and dedication she poured into it .
Today, the mission remains as ambitious as it is powerful: prepare and deliver 500 boxes, each one filled with enough food to feed a family of six and accompanied by a grocery store gift card so families can purchase a turkey for their holiday meal. It is a task that the NHS takes on with pride, determination, and gratitude.
Personally, I was introduced to Wishbone my freshman year by Mrs. Rebecca Zlatkin, science teacher and NHS moderator. I had her for Biology. She took my class to package boxes, and I fell in love. I stayed the whole day packing boxes, and came back for more the next year. My junior year, three days were spent packing boxes, and I was finally invited to go on the field trip to drop them off at the St. John Bosco Church. It was an incredible experience, and one of the biggest reasons I campaigned to be NHS President this year. I want to give back to NHS what it has given to me and what it gives so many. Truly, Wishbone is something incredibly special.
Students participate by filling an entire box with all required food items and, if they choose, contributing a $20 gift card to complete the meal. In return, NHS awards service hours: three hours for a completed box, plus one additional hour for the gift card contribution. If done to its full extent, students can get up to eight hours by completing two boxes.
“I think Wishbone is great. It’s not hard to make the box and you get service hours which is really important especially as a junior,” said junior Ana Poleo.
But the Wishbone Project is more than service hours. It is a lesson in generosity, unity, and the power of small acts done together. Each box is a reminder that someone cared enough to help. Each gift card is a quiet message of hope. And each student who participates becomes part of Ms. Garcia’s legacy of compassion.
As NHS members organize boxes, fill out certificates, and prepare for delivery week, they do so knowing that their effort carries the spirit of a teacher who believed profoundly in helping those closest to home. And every year, as these 500 boxes make their way into the community, the Wishbone Project continues to stitch together generosity, memory, and love—one family at a time.
