By Beth Griffith-Niemann
Children, Inc.
Bellevue high school students are organizing a week of service that will help local non-profits, community projects and the city’s elderly residents. The students are calling the week “Bellevue Service in Action.” They set the date for April 15-19, 2019.
Juniors and seniors will join faculty and staff in cleaning up The Bellevue Beach Park and they’ll be working with the Bellevue Neighborhood Association to identify other projects. Students will also be helping elderly residents with needs around their homes and yards. Applications will be available at the end of January.
“It could be anything from planting flowers to painting a fence,” said Sarah Kunnen, an instructional coach at the high school who is working with student organizers. “We have some dedicated seniors who are motivated to give back to our community and to be positive role models for underclassmen.”
Service in Action has already won the support of the Bellevue Education Foundation receiving a $1,000 grant to help pay for T-shirts, marketing and materials.
“Education takes many forms, including service learning projects like the one happening this Spring.” said Ryan Salzman, foundation treasurer and city councilmember. “Experiential learning and service learning are best practices for developing well-educated members of the Bellevue community. For that reason, we are excited to be a sponsor.”
Students are also going to be making a grant of their own.
They’re working with the Magnified Giving Organization which will be giving students $1,000 that they can grant to a local non-profit. Over the next several months, students will be evaluating organizations and selecting a winner to receive the grant.
The students are also working with the Service Learning Team of Children, Inc., a non-profit based in Covington. Coordinator Steve Oldfield is meeting twice a month with students. Oldfield is a Bellevue native.
“It’s very cool to see how committed these students are to making a difference in our community,” Oldfield said. “It fits right in with our mission of providing innovative programs to grow knowledge, skills, and strengths that allow families, children, and communities to flourish.”
A team of seniors is organizing everything from creating a website and poster to planning service projects that will run throughout the week.
“We come from a small community with a lot of heart; we want to give back to it,” said senior Hailey Walls, one of the project organizers.
While Bellevue Service in Action is still months away, students are already talking about it becoming an annual tradition for the high school’s upperclassmen, said senior Will Ryan.
“I want to create something positive that will be remembered forever.”
