Fairfield and Pekin schools participate in Day of Service

FAIRFIELD – A couple of local school districts had their students participate in a Day of Service on April 4.

Fairfield Middle School and Pekin High School had all of their students perform community service that day. Fairfield Middle School Principal Carly Marten said this is something the middle school has done for many years, where every student and staff member participates.

“This year was a bit funny because it ended up raining, so it was more like a half day for us when we got back around 12:30 or 1 p.m.,” Marten said. “Some of our groups went to Libertyville and Lockridge, and served pretty much any local organization we knew could use some help.”

Marten said the middle school broke into 40 groups and visited 16 locations. She said many groups focused on cleaning or raking leaves, or in one case going to pick up sticks at city parks to make them easier to mow.

“We had some groups go to retirement homes to play games with the residents,” Marten said. “Some picked up trash, and others went to the high school and Little League ball diamonds to get them ready for the season.”

Marten noted that the middle school students and staff were joined by adult volunteers from Cambridge Investment Research, which pays for its employees take time off work to perform community service.

“We had seven volunteers, many of whom were parents who joined their student,” Marten said. “It was super cool for parents to join and be a part of it.”

Marten said she feels it’s important for the school to do things like the Day of Service because the community is supportive of the school.

“It’s important for us to give back to the people who give so much to us,” she said. “It’s awesome to watch 400 kids give back to their community. Teenagers get a bad rap that they think life is all about them, but when you see them out having fun in their community, you see them in a different light.”

Marten said the middle school plans to do the Day of Service again next April, so local organizations that need help should reach out so the middle school can put them on the list.

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PEKIN

For half the school day, the entire Pekin High School student body divided into about 14-15 groups to perform community service, helping both at the school grounds and in surrounding communities. The “Day of Service” initiative is new this school year, and this was the second one Pekin has held, with the first coming in October.

The 164 students who participated that day helped prepare the ball diamonds at the school for the upcoming baseball and softball seasons, while others picked up trash at the football field and track. A group of Rising Ruritans performed roadside cleanup. Other students were sent to towns like Richland and Hedrick, where they prepared ball fields and concession stands, and cleaned up cemeteries. One group went to the daycare in Richland and picked up rocks for the new playground going in.

Pekin High School secretary Christy Gambell, who organized the event, was part of a group that went to the Food Bank of Iowa in Ottumwa, where she and the students packaged hygiene bags that will go to local schools.

“We had one group that went to Heartland Humane Society [in Ottumwa] where they did things with dogs and cats,” Gambell said. “One group went to Sigourney’s Manor House Care Center, where the girls did activities with the residents while the guys picked up sticks and worked outside.”

Gambell said the decision to dedicate half a day of school to community service stemmed from a new requirement that all Pekin students perform at least 20 hours of community service to graduate.

“Sometimes students have a hard time getting that,” Gambell said. “We wanted to make sure that every year they’d have the opportunity to do five hours. We feel it’s important to promote community service.”

Pekin High School Principal Shawn Dorman and Gambell discussed the idea of a Day of Service, and they agreed it was important to model good behavior.

“If someone is not encouraging them to do it, they’re not going to go out and do it,” Gambell said about high school students and community service. “I’ve encouraged my own kids to do it. To me, it’s very important.”

Gambell noted that a lot of students go well beyond the 20-hour minimum needed to graduate to earn the prestigious Silver Cord, which requires 100 hours of community service.

Pekin’s Day of Service in the fall also involved cleaning up the cemeteries in Hedrick and Richland, cleaning at the Hedrick Community Center, and helping a woman move into a new apartment at Hedrick Housing.

Gambell noted that Pekin previously required students to do only eight hours of community service to graduate, but decided “our kids can do more than eight, so we upped it to 20.” The COVID pandemic threw a wrench into this effort, and Gambell said the school became lax on what counted as community service.

“Now we’re trying to get a little more strict,” she said. “To me, [community service] is going outside your comfort zone. It’s not just helping your parents or grandparents. It’s doing something for someone else without payment in return. You never know when, sometime in the future, you might need that help.”

Gambell is already looking ahead to the next Day of Service this coming fall, and is seeking people or groups that need a helping hand.

“The more things we have to do, the better,” she said.

Those with community service ideas can email Gambell at christy.gambell@pekincsd.org or call her at the high school at 319-695-3705.

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com