High School Student Finds Perfect Solution For Kids Who Eat Alone

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High School Student Finds Perfect Solution For Kids Who Eat Alone

CBS News

A student at Boca Raton High School has started a new club so none of his classmates have to eat lunch alone.

Denis Estimon is a Haitian immigrant who moved to Florida when he was in the first grade. While he eventually made friends, he remembers the time in his life when he felt isolated and alone - especially at lunchtime.

"It's not a good feeling, like you're by yourself. And that's something that I don't want anybody to go through," Estimon told CBS News.

"To me it's like, if we don't try to go make that change, who's going to do it?" he added.

With Estimon's memory constantly being replayed in his thoughts, he and a group of his friends decided to to start a new club.

They formed "We Dine Together," where students who would otherwise eat alone are able to have company.

"I went from coming from a school where I always had friends, to coming to where I had nobody," club member Allie Sealy said.

Sealy transferred to Boca Raton High School a few years ago, and echos Estimon's sentiments over the loneliness new students often face.

"It seems really unfair. It's honestly an issue," she said. "Meeting someone who actually cares and listens to what you have to say, really makes a difference. And that can happen at lunch, that can happen at our club."

After graduating this past spring, Estimon decided to take his club to the national level. So far he's helped establish 15 chapters of the club, and has 100 more lined up for the new year.  

Would you have been a member of the "We Dine Together" club in high school?

Maya has been working at Shared for a year. She just begrudgingly spent $200 on a gym membership. Contact her at maya@shared.com