For the past several years at OHS, a few different determined English Language Arts teachers and the students in their classes have worked together to give back to the community in a special way. In these classes, students organize into groups to collaborate on a lengthy service project revolving around a charity of their choosing.
Each student in their designated group must write a research paper, interview someone from the charity, create a mini documentary, and write a reflection paper to conclude it all. However, the most integral part of the project is serving the chosen charity in any way they can. Many teenagers don’t think it’s possible to make a difference, but this service project has proved that to be incorrect.
“Several years ago Mrs. Simon and I decided we wanted to do a service learning project. It came from reading “I am Malala” and in the book [Malala] was able to help people and she was a teenager. We wanted to show students that they can help by just being a teenager as well,” said Ronda Cunningham, ELA and AP Seminar teacher.
Every group selected had to select a different charity, resulting in individual and unique goals. Furthermore, the students were able to serve organizations within their own community such as animal shelters and doing bake sales.
“The students choose a group, and in that group they have to choose a charity. It can be any charity that’s local,” Cunningham said.
One of the charities that was chosen this year was GiGi’s Playhouse, an achievement center for people with Down Syndrome that grants support to them and their families. Becoming a part of something bigger has inspired students to want to continue serving the community.
“Obviously we had to do it for a project, but [our group] just wanted to go help out an organization like this. All of us still want to go out and help more,” said Shay Garraway, sophomore.
Before any of the actual hands-on volunteering could happen for groups choosing to physically go in and serve, students were required to do a few different things beforehand.
“We did a bunch of research on it, and it seemed so fun and so open [ended],” Garraway said.
Along the way, many of the students participating in the project met new people who helped them see through lenses and expose them to things that they may not have experienced before.
“I met this girl named Angelina, and she was the sweetest girl ever. Everyone was so fun to be around and [the kids] loved being around people kind of their age,” Garraway said.
Other groups had specific reasons that came into play when picking out their charities. The project was flexible in the way that groups could select their own organizations to focus on. If they wanted to, they could tailor the charity they chose to their own interests.
“My friend wants to be a foster parent so we decided our project could help her get more information,” said Izzy Owens, sophomore.
Each individual can have a different experience, depending on what they choose to take from their project. Every single person has an important role to play in their team’s project, and in helping the charity overall, but they also all have to collaborate and work together as a team.
“We were all calling and emailing, and we all worked together pretty well,” Owens said.
Many groups get creative in selecting their charities because there is such a wide variety of organizations to choose from, even just in Phoenix alone. On top of that, there are endless possibilities to serve within those organizations.
“I’ve had groups in the past that have sold paper hearts. They cut out all these paper hearts and they chose Phoenix Children’s Hospital. [The group] sold them for $2 a heart, and they had a competition between all of my classes. Each class had a different color and they put them on the windows as they sold them so you could see which class was in the lead. By selling paper hearts, they made $600,” said Cunningham.
Every year, countless important lessons can be learned from each project. Every one is a relatively lengthy process, and a fairly big deal that involves a lot of effort. Students tend to come out the other side of it having gained more of an understanding on how to give back to the community.
“My biggest takeaway is that everyone is equal. [Gigi’s Playhouse’s] whole goal is to make sure that the Down Syndrome kids feel equal to everyone else, and that they can do all the things that everyone else can do,” Garraway said.
The projects are not only eye-opening for students about the things going on around them, but lets them realize that even as high schoolers, it is possible to make a difference. Even if that difference is small, small things pile up to become big things.
“I find that the students really have learned things. They will say that it has made them more grateful for what they have. It’s really meaningful for them individually, as well as giving back to the community,” Cunningham said.
Overall, every service project benefits the community in a distinct way. The work that is done really is significant, and meaningful for the students, the community, and the teachers that originated the idea.
“It makes me really proud to watch them go do this and get into it. The groups that truly get into doing the service for the organization learn a lot. It makes me happy that they’re giving back to their community, and learning how to give back to the community, which I think benefits all of us,” Cunningham said.
