Hi! I’m Ellie Crate –– co-founder of Banana Splits Club at Pingree School in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. When I was nine years old, my parents divorced. Like so many kids in America (roughly one in two children), I was left with sadness, confusion, and a million questions about my future: Where will I live? What am I going to tell my friends? How will my life ever be normal again? In eighth grade, when I heard about three fellow students whose parents were getting divorced the same year, I felt an immediate kinship with my peers and longed to create an outlet for others to express what they were going through at home. Once I entered high school and learned the process of establishing a student-run club, I teamed up with my friend Annabelle to lay the foundation for a space that caters to kids of separated or divorced families. With a bold vision and months of dedication and planning, Annabelle and I founded Banana Splits! No, we aren’t a dessert-making club, but we do talk a lot about splits (household splits, that is). What started as a very small organization has turned into a thriving club with 20 active members, regular guest speakers, and a growing community of fearless, caring, and open-minded students eager to unite and support each other through shared experiences at home.

 

As a result of Banana Splits, Pingree School will now consider multiple parent-teacher conferences for parents who request to meet separately and grant access to duplicate course materials for students with multiple homes. My goal is to continue growing this amazing community –– that’s how this website was born: to give other students around the world the tools and resources to start and run their very own Banana Splits clubs!