Lively chatter could be heard from the dining hall as eighth graders packaged hundreds of individually wrapped items into boxes for the annual eighth grade Day of Service, Friday, May 9. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness about homelessness and food insecurity, and build excitement about service learning as a whole.
The day was in collaboration with PATH, a homeless shelter dedicated to assisting people who struggle with food insecurity or may not have access to food at all. Eighth grader Violet Broock said she had previously done service learning at Archer and was excited for this new journey participating in the Day of Service.
“In sixth grade, we did a similar [project], where we packaged meals to send to a shelter. This year, we are creating snack kits,” Broock said. “I’m excited to see the final product and to see what we can do all together as a grade.”
The students produced over 740 snack packs — which included nonperishable foods and letters of kindness — in the span of one hour, according to eighth grade Dean of Culture, Community and Belonging Emily Gray. Ninu Alitoro (’29) said the process of meeting their goal would have a big impact on the homeless community.
“Even though I have done similar service in the past, I think we’ll have a greater impact because we made more packs and included nice messages for them to see,” Alitoro said. “Although it may seem like a little thing to us, it could be the thing that someone really needs, and any little thing helps.”
Alitoro said this project helped build enthusiasm for the grade’s upcoming service projects they start next year, which will expand their service goals through a passion project. This process will help students examine how they approach community service in general, Alitoro said.
“I’m excited to start my service project next year. I think service learning teaches you to have empathy for other people because you never know what they are going through,” Alitoro said. “So if you can help in any way, it’s still better than nothing.”
Saige Queensborough (’29) is a new student this year, and she said she is new to service as a whole. She said she had never participated in a gradewide service event before. Queensborough said this experience encouraged her to continue with service learning outside of school.
“It’s interesting because I’m a new student, so I don’t really know how service projects work yet. This is my first one and I’m really excited,” Queensborough said. “I don’t know what I will do next year for my big project, but I’ll probably do something like this.”
In an email sent out to the eighth grade after their Day of Service, students were encouraged to continue their service outside of school and help the community anytime they are able. Broock said this experience inspired her when thinking about how to continue her service learning.
“I definitely have a lot of ideas for my service project now,” Broock said. “I’m looking forward to where it will bring me in the future.”
