Athens Academy Students Organize Tenth Annual Service Day
Twenty-three groups of Athens Academy Upper School students and faculty journeyed across Athens on Friday, November 21, to participate in the school’s tenth annual Service Day. All students from grades nine through twelve signed up for projects ranging from cleaning and gardening to a fashion show fund-raiser and musical performances. It was a great day of service, with students giving a total of over 1,500 hours of their time.
Student groups included bowling and basketball with Special Olympians, working with children at Oglethorpe and Barrow elementary schools, decorating windows for the American Red Cross, and visiting the senior citizens’ center. Other students volunteered at Our Daily Bread, Nuci’s Space, the Northeast Georgia Food Bank, and the Athens Area Homeless Shelter. At Maison Bleu, a group of students held a fashion show to raise money for the homeless shelter. Students also volunteered at Memorial Park, the Oconee County Animal Shelter, and Garnett Ridge Community Center.
A student video crew toured the different volunteer sites during the day and put together a video that can be viewed on the Athens Academy website at www.athensacademy.org by clicking on “Academics,” selecting “Media & Technology,” and then clicking on “Webcasts” on the left-hand menu.
Service Day was founded in 2000 by Athens Academy student Jessica Tarleton as a way to help students figure out what type of service they enjoyed most. Since that time, students have organized, planned, and carried out Service Day every year. The program is designed to give students a broad range of volunteering opportunities throughout the community. At Athens Academy, service to school, the community, nation, and world is emphasized by direct contributions of time, personal talents, and resources by students, parents, faculty, and alumni in order to improve the quality of life for others and the natural environment we share.