“The public does not get to see the young kids out and about making such positive strides in their community,” said David Banks, board member of Cobb County Public Schools. “It is really great to see the students and teachers volunteer their Saturday to service the community.”
More than 900 high school students from Harrison High School and the local community in Kennesaw took part in the Sixth Annual Community Service Day last Saturday . The day of service was the idea of Dutch Bickley, a parent-member of Harrison School Council, the advisory board that holds the Community Service Day as one of its initiatives.
“Financially, our parents have been very generous, but this idea came about to extend the value of working for others, doing physical labor and donating time,” said Nora Moulton, organizer of the Community Service Day and a language arts teacher at Harrison High School. When first incepted in the spring of 2005, the event kicked off with just over 100 volunteers and has grown substantially.
The students spread out over 30 service projects which included visiting nursing homes, park renovations, landscaping at Harrison High School, volunteering at MUST Ministries, and holding a pet adoption on the school campus via the school’s animal rescue club, Paws for a Cause, just to name a few. The eventful day included volunteering not only from the students, but the teachers, parents and bus drivers who helped in making sure the day was a success.
Besides doing service projects and giving back to the community, “We want to teach our students how to work together to serve others,” added Principal William Griggers, on a lesson he hopes the students take away and value throughout their lives.
Story update: On March 22, Doing Good covered Cases For Kids—an organization started by local artist Holly Jones and her dedication to painting and personalizing suitcases for foster children in Georgia. With a generous response from the community, Jones received a donation from PLAID Enterprises, a manufacturer of DIY-products, for endless amounts of paint supplies to continue her projects. Since then, Jones and her team have donated suitcases to three counties.
CAPTIONS
1. Over 900 students came together for the Sixth Annual Community Service Day held at Harrison High School in Kennesaw on Sat., April 16. Planned and organized by the faculty and staff, the service day provided over 30 projects such as park renovations and nursing home visits around the local community. Devika Rao, doing.goodajc@gmail.com
2. Bradford Miles (from left), Darren Miles, Joseph Mawrocki, Henry Taylor, Nora Moulton and Stephanie Rainey volunteered at Harrison High School for the Sixth Annual Community Service Day held on Sat., April 16 in Kennesaw. The volunteers partook in landscaping projects around the high school, while many others volunteered at local nursing homes, churches and schools, helped in park clean-ups, and more. Devika Rao, doing.goodajc@gmail.com
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