Service Week Takes on New Life Under Stay-At-Home Orders

As weeks at home turned to months, and dreams of the annual 8th grade service trip faded, the class of 2020 took matters into their own hands.

Out of a desire to help out, as the coronavirus pandemic grew, students helped to redefine their spring service trip, virtually. This re-imagined service project began as research project designed to explore non-profit operations, to define what volunteerism means, and to explore new ways to get involved - in the age of social distancing.

After researching local organizations, students got to work, participating in a variety of community service work, from donating clothes to making yard signs in support of front line workers. As with all service weeks, the goal of this project was to open students’ eyes to other people’s circumstances and help them discover within themselves the motivation to help others.

A group of students, seeking a way to help family, friends, and the entire GUS community engage in community service, took the project to a new level. Gathering input from classmates and all the work all the students did on the research project, they created a website called GUSKidsGiveBack.org. The goal of the site is to help “frontline workers, friends, family, and our community cope with the current situation.” We're proud of their work and you can be too. Check it out!