Organizers are calling the annual Service Day a success after facilitating a variety of both on and off-campus volunteer activities on Thursday.
First implemented 10 years ago, Palo Alto High School Service Day allows students to showcase their commitment to volunteering and giving back to the community, according to Get Involved Project Manager and junior Candace Wang.
Over 300 students travelled to off-campus locations to volunteer, ranging from distributing food at the Second Harvest Food Bank to pulling weeds at the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve, according to Wang. In addition, over 500 students participated in on-campus activities on the Quad during lunch.
Get Involved Palo Alto coordinated the on-campus events while Paly Youth Community Service Club organized the off-campus events, contacted service sites and streamlined student participation, according to YCS Co-President junior Ibby Day.
Service Day featured 20 on-campus booths aimed at promoting volunteerism through small actions, including crafting bookmarks and picking up litter on campus to provide a range of opportunities for those who were unable to travel off campus. As part of the main on-campus service projects, students sewed and tie-dyed bags for The Little Red Shoes Program.
“Volunteerism is the type of thing that is missing in a lot of students’ lives,” Wang said. “People become really busy and forget about giving back, but that’s what Service Day is all about. It’s about reminding people of all the good that we do.”
Photos by Adrienne Kwok.
…// Powered by Cincopa Video Hosting for Business solution.Service Day 2016Sophomore Vivian Nguyen concentrates on sewing a bag for The Little Red Shoes Program as part of this year’s sole on-campus service-learning activity. Nguyen, along with all other Social Justice Pathway students, agreed as a class to participate in Service Day.flash 16cameramake NIKON CORPORATIONheight 4000orientation 1camerasoftware Ver.1.00 originaldate 3/24/2016 4:54:34 AMwidth 6000cameramodel NIKON D3300Sophomore Eli Al-Shamari and junior Ibby Day distribute pizza to students who completed service-learning activities during lunch. “Service day was a success from what I hear,” YCS Co-President Ibby Day said. “Most of the new sites were super fun this year.”cameramake Canonheight 3456orientation 1flash 16originaldate 3/24/2016 4:56:31 PMwidth 5184cameramodel Canon EOS REBEL T4iStudents collaborate on constructing bags, an activity that lasted throughout the day. “I think that it is important to, every once in awhile, take time out of your day and do something good for others, whether it is simply picking up a piece of trash or sewing bags and making cards for younger kids,” sophomore Darrow Hornik said.flash 16cameramake NIKON CORPORATIONheight 4000orientation 1camerasoftware Ver.1.00 originaldate 3/24/2016 4:56:44 AMwidth 6000cameramodel NIKON D3300Sophomore Nicholas Zhao and juniors Serina Nguyen, Kirsten Kwan and Lindsay Chen (left to right) collect student suggestions on what they would like to see changed about Paly. “I am definitely inspired by those who volunteer because they take time out of their day to give back to their community,” Nguyen said.cameramake Canonheight 3456orientation 1flash 16originaldate 3/24/2016 4:57:30 PMwidth 5184cameramodel Canon EOS REBEL T4iStudents listen intently to an organization representative at one of 20 unique booths, each of which provided a unique project centered on a specific mission, such as writing cards for children.cameramake Canonheight 3456orientation 1flash 16originaldate 3/24/2016 4:58:09 PMwidth 5184cameramodel Canon EOS REBEL T4iStudents interact with a representative from Canopy, an organization dedicated to planting and caring for trees in the Palo Alto community. In addition to completing service projects, students were able to sign up for future volunteer opportunities with individual organizations.cameramake Canonheight 3456orientation 1flash 16originaldate 3/24/2016 5:01:28 PMwidth 5184cameramodel Canon EOS REBEL T4iGet Involved Project Manager and junior Candace Wang distributes lunches to organization representatives. “It was great to see hundreds of students giving part of their day to something, no matter how small, to give back to the community,” Wang said.cameramake Canonheight 3456orientation 1flash 16originaldate 3/24/2016 5:14:59 PMwidth 5184cameramodel Canon EOS REBEL T4iStudents enjoy slices of pizza after completing two service events during lunch. In addition to providing 1000 slices of pizza, Get Involved Palo Alto organized purchasing breakfast for over 200 students partaking in off-campus field trips.cameramake Canonheight 3456orientation 1flash 16originaldate 3/24/2016 4:56:21 PMwidth 5184cameramodel Canon EOS REBEL T4i