District News
HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS “GIVE BACK” TO COMMUNITY
May 22 volunteer program demonstrated
students’ gratitude
About 250 high school seniors fanned
out throughout the community May 22 to lend a hand to many of
the community organizations that have supported them throughout
their school careers.
"The concept is that for the past 13
years, our students have been supported not just by their
families, but by many of these community organizations, and this
is their chance to give something back,” said Dr. Richard
DeMartino, student advocate and co-adviser of the school’s
National Honor Society chapter with Lucia Nicholas, a school
psychologist. Student organizers were
Tim Lynch, Honor Society president, and Samantha Bornitzke,
“Senior Give-Back Day” coordinator.
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Senior "give-back" volunteers gather for a group photo. For more photos, click here. |
The “give-back day” concept was developed by the Honor Society
and implemented for the first time in May 2008, with support
from the school and district administration.
More than 20 sites, many of them not-for-profit organizations,
were the beneficiaries of the student
volunteerism. Teams of students, each led by a student captain
and adult adviser, were bused to the
locations by the school district’s transportation department at
8 a.m. on May 22 to tackle four-hour projects identified by the
agencies. Yard work, gardening, painting, cleaning and clerical
work were among the identified tasks.
Students signed up for the volunteer effort earlier in the
spring, with Honor Society members forming the core group. By
the time the “give-back” effort ended,
students volunteered about 1,000 hours of service to community
agencies.
Participating agencies were: Saratoga
Springs Presbyterian-New England Congregational Church, the New
York State Military Museum, Children’s Museum of Saratoga,
Saratoga Senior Center, Saratoga Visitors’ Center, Saratoga Arts
Council, Salvation Army, Saratoga Springs Public Library,
Franklin Community Center, Wilton Nature Conservancy, BEST Beds
for the Back Stretch Project, Yaddo, Wesley Nursing Home,
Saratoga Center for the Family, Railroad Run, the YMCA of
Saratoga, Mary’s Haven Hospice, and the Caroline Street,
Division Street, Lake Avenue and Geyser Road Elementary Schools.