Students Participant in Summer of Service Camp
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Thirty-five middle school students from sixteen Minneapolis and suburban schools participated in the Summer of Service Camp at The Blake School August 6-10. These seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students explored issues of self-reflection, diversity, leadership, and service. They also learned about service through themes of hunger, homelessness, health, literacy, recycling, and the environment. Students considered service as a path to peace while they studied the Shinnyo-En program of Six Billion Paths to Peace. They discussed peace and their own personal path to peace.
The goals of the camp where to:
- Develop self-awareness and self-identity by exploring cultural and ancestral roots, as well as exploring their own personal values.
- Consider issues of diversity and respect.
- Develop leadership skills.
- Encourage compassion.
- Bring forth a more caring community.
- Through active service instill the importance of service to others and to the earth.
- Have fun and develop friendships.
Daily service fieldtrips put service learning into action.
- Students made and delivered food to the men's shelter at Simpson Housing. They toured the shelter and learned about homelessness and hunger in Minneapolis.
- As students made fleece blankets to send to Light of Hope Children's Center in Kenya, they learned about the need for fresh water, health care, and education needed by the orphanages in Africa.
- The students learned about environmental issues at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and they practiced what they learned by maintaining a garden at The Blake School.
- At Vail Place a clubhouse model agency lending services to adults with mental illnesses students learned about issues of mental and physical health. They made lunch for and ate lunch with Vail Place members.
- At Good Will Industries students learned about recycling as the sorted and organized donated items.
- The students studied issues of literacy as they wrote book reports and friendship letters and made bookmarks to go with books collected for an early childhood center for Latino immigrants.
Students learned these lessons of service.
- Service requires; head, heart, hands; thinking, feeling, and action.
- Gifts of service include time, talent, and treasure.
- Service gives purpose and one meaning to life.
- Service is reciprocal - the giver receives; the receiver gives.
- Service is a path to peace.
- Service is a way of life.
- Service is an invitation to do good and important work.
- Service action can be in our own backyard or around the world.
- Service can be hard work as well as great fun.
Nan Peterson August 15, 2007
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