Union Academy High School Clubs Serve the Community

   

   On March 15th, Union Academy High School students completed over 800 hours serving the community through the annual High School Service Day. This event is one of many examples of how UA is committed to serving those in need and is dedicated to the development of character in students.

   For students in grades ten through twelve, High School Service Day was the final event for their chosen club and was a celebration of their work over the school year. When clubs began in the fall they were challenged by Mr. Zorn, the high school principal, to create a project that would give back to others. Over the past eight months, students have investigated areas of need tied to the mission of their club. Based upon those needs, club members then worked together to address the area of concern. For instance, the Sports Lovers club saw a need to educate middle school students about the importance of a healthy life style. They then created and executed a lesson on this topic and engaged sixth grade students in fun ways to exercise through dance. The Knots of Love club, a group of students who learned to knit, discovered that the local hospital maternity wards were in need of hats for newborn babies. According to Emma Tittle, a junior at UA, the club, “knitted twenty or thirty small hats and then delivered them to CMC Union on Service Day.”   

   For ninth grade students, the High School Service Day was the finale of this year’s Freshmen Focus workshops. On Service day, freshmen were reminded of UA’s graduation requirement involving service hours and were exposed to the needs of local charities and non-profits. Students chose from eight different projects such as making blankets for Project Linus, crafting para-cord bracelets for the USO, stuffing race bags for the Heart of Monroe, and preparing lunch for Operation Reach Out to name only a few. “Our goal today was to let them see that it is easy and rewarding to serve others. We hope that by introducing them to these local organizations, they will find a place to get involved and give back over the rest of their high school career,” said Kelly Brun, school counselor at UA.

   Overall, almost twenty different local groups and organizations benefited from the High School Service Day, including Wolfe School, Brookdale Union Park Nursing Home, and Operation Christmas Child. However, the biggest beneficiaries of the day were Union Academy’s high school students. “So many teachers have helped me over the years and it felt great to finally give something back to them.  I loved making them breakfast on Service Day,” said Jeannine Llanos, 12th grade student.