At all school meeting the other day, there was a great introductory announcement about all the service opportunities Tabor offers its students. Did you know we have a service requirement of five hours each year?
That may seem like a small amount, but many of our students have other service requirements through their churches, Eagle Scouts, or other groups they belong to. We also hoped our small requirement would encourage more service, once the students got a taste for the satisfaction their actions can bring them. Indeed, that has worked for us as many students opt to choose community service as a club activity, or an after school activity each week. For those who are committed to arts and athletics after school, there are always weekends and evenings to fit in the requirement.
Perhaps one of our most popular partners among the students is Gifts to Give in New Bedford. This is an incredible non-profit that utilizes many school age volunteers, making it fun to make a difference in your community. Our students go over and sort, clean and package toys, books and household items for families in need. We have also run donation drives for them, encouraging Marion Residents to clean out their closets while we cleaned up our streets during Marion Clean Up Day last spring in celebration of Earth Day.
Gifts to Give is not the only partner we work with. Students tutor younger students at our local elementary school, Sippican School. They volunteer at different fundraising events and festivals in New Bedford, Providence and Boston such as walkathons and bikeathons that support hunger relief, cancer research, environmental programs, you name it! They do beach clean ups, coach local sports teams, help feed and befriend the elderly at local church "friendship dinners." They are Big Brothers & Big Sisters, blood donors, and music teachers to students at Our Sisters School in New Bedford. They have found many, many ways to extend their reach, apply their skills, and be a help to those in need.
But there is more! Of course you know that one of the very unique and cool things about Tabor is our community. And community is not lost in our community service efforts. Often dorm communities, or team communities or advisor group communities pool their talent and time to help improve our wider community. This makes the service work a double benefit: the kids get to know each other and bond more closely in their team or dorm unit, while also learning how their talents and efforts can help others.
The amount of time required may not be much, but we hope the community approach and community building aspects of doing the service work will leave lasting memories that will encourage our students to be community leaders in service for years to come. When you get your friends together to work on behalf of others, the world just seems a bit brighter!
