Lucy Barr (14) organized the 2024 A.C.E. Benefit.

 

Submitted story

SALISBURY — If you happened to be passing by Salisbury High on a recent Saturday, you may have noticed a couple of rappers, a few sharks and the stars of High School Musical on the tennis courts.

Those costumed kids were 28 Salisbury High students competing in the A.C.E. Benefit Tennis Tournament.

Madeline Hoskins Gansz started the A.C.E. Benefit in 2012 when she was a Salisbury High student and saw a need among her classmates.

Since its inception, the program has been run by siblings Kayla, Julia and Vance Honeycutt, with Vance passing it on to Lucy Barr, who has now run the program for the last three years.

A.C.E. is an acronym for All Children Eating and raises money for the Salisbury High School food pantry, which provides students with food, hygiene products, school supplies and clothing. Through the support of dozens of individual donors, the food and supply pantry has helped thousands of students and their families. The students contact their teachers and advisors to discreetly receive items for the weekend.

Student support specialist Centerra Harris says, “Salisbury High School has the largest homeless population in the district and a huge foster and newly immigrated group of students. We were able to provide 40 new winter coats and book bags along with school supplies, and we gave out countless bags of groceries this year.”

Barr, a Salisbury tennis standout, is pleased with the impact it has provided.

“My family has long ties to this community and I’ve been taught service before self, from an early age,” Barr said.  “Thus, I have grown a deep passion for my community, especially kids and those of my generation. I am thankful to have been given the opportunity to help my classmates and make an impact in the community.”