Service Week 2023
Source/Author: Raffi Darrow, Ebytes Editor
March 31, 2023
The entire 9th-12th grade Upper School student body participates annually in Service Week along with their teachers. Throughout the 4+ days, students immerse themselves in service projects with non-profits and educational institutions. Many prior national service week opportunities returned this year and there are plans to expand travel options for next year.
Chargers helped out in a hands-on fashion at the following locations:
Benison Farm, Empath Health, Feeding Tampa Bay, Friends of Strays, Goodwill Industries, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pinellas County beaches, The Kind Mouse, RVR Horse Sanctuary, St. Pete Youth Farm, Seaside Seabird Sanctuary, the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, among others.
Tasks included: beach clean up, dog walking, farming/gardening/weeding, cleaning animal enclosures, stocking shelves, National Park trail restoration, sorting food and clothing items, sending greeting cards to veterans, reading to children, aiding senior citizens with computer use, and more. Some students remained on campus an assisted ES and LS teachers, created a centennial timeline of Shorecrest, and beautified the campus with two new murals!
"Our students successfully fanned out into the Tampa Bay region and beyond to lend their assistance to a number of nonprofit organizations. Their efforts mean so much to those who rely on the support; and our students did not disappoint when it came to upholding our Core Values of Responsibility, Respect and Compassion," said Head of Upper School, Erich Schneider. "As many of you know, Dean Alexander and I led a group to the Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee, where we worked with the maintenance staff in preparing the campgrounds for the upcoming season while living on-site in tents. We were so proud of the Chargers who impressed our hosts with their hard work, positivity and humor. These turned out to be essential traits as we endured a 10°F night followed by a 20-hour period of rain. It was in these moments when we chaperones felt blessed to have such a wonderful group of students in our charge. It turns out that kids are pretty tough and are entirely capable of thriving without cell phones (there was no cell service!) I’m looking forward to returning next year with another amazing group!"
Learn more here.
Chargers helped out in a hands-on fashion at the following locations:
Benison Farm, Empath Health, Feeding Tampa Bay, Friends of Strays, Goodwill Industries, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pinellas County beaches, The Kind Mouse, RVR Horse Sanctuary, St. Pete Youth Farm, Seaside Seabird Sanctuary, the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, among others.
Tasks included: beach clean up, dog walking, farming/gardening/weeding, cleaning animal enclosures, stocking shelves, National Park trail restoration, sorting food and clothing items, sending greeting cards to veterans, reading to children, aiding senior citizens with computer use, and more. Some students remained on campus an assisted ES and LS teachers, created a centennial timeline of Shorecrest, and beautified the campus with two new murals!
"Our students successfully fanned out into the Tampa Bay region and beyond to lend their assistance to a number of nonprofit organizations. Their efforts mean so much to those who rely on the support; and our students did not disappoint when it came to upholding our Core Values of Responsibility, Respect and Compassion," said Head of Upper School, Erich Schneider. "As many of you know, Dean Alexander and I led a group to the Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee, where we worked with the maintenance staff in preparing the campgrounds for the upcoming season while living on-site in tents. We were so proud of the Chargers who impressed our hosts with their hard work, positivity and humor. These turned out to be essential traits as we endured a 10°F night followed by a 20-hour period of rain. It was in these moments when we chaperones felt blessed to have such a wonderful group of students in our charge. It turns out that kids are pretty tough and are entirely capable of thriving without cell phones (there was no cell service!) I’m looking forward to returning next year with another amazing group!"
Learn more here.
