Within the school, we take care of each other. If someone gets sick, we make meals for them (like proper Southerners do). Teachers meet twice a week for prayer and once a week for a faculty meeting and multiple times if there are special needs. Teachers have donated their sick days to staff members with long term illnesses. We have held charity walks for members of our community to help them with finances, collected baby items for one of our teacher's nephews who was born just after hurricane Katrina and then arranged for the students to attend a funeral after that baby died a few months later. When my cat died, I got sympathy cards from several members of our staff and one alumna. GRACE is a loving community, and you experience it quickly and overpoweringly if you have a need.
We do not, however, want our students to believe that we only take care of our own. We want the to recognize that, having been blessed by God, we have a responsibility to share our blessings and the love of Christ with those around our community and around the world. For that reason, we set aside two days each school year in which we empty out our upper school building for the entire day so that middle school students, high school students, and teachers can go out into our community for a day of service.
Let me first give a big shout out to the receptionists who have taken charge of this over the years. Michele, Dana, and now Lisa have taken the enormous task of sending hundreds of kids to multiple places with multiple adults. If you are a teacher reading this, you know what a hassle it is to plan a field trip for you class of 30 kids. Imagine doing it with 330 kids (and not all to the same location). This involves permission slip, money for the bus drivers, parent drivers and chaperones, grouping kids, figuring out which ones need to bring their lunches and which done, emergency information packets, medicine for the right kids to the correct adult. It's crazy. The work of this person is just as much a community service as the kids going out to do the work. The students do a variety of things.
Middle School - Gleaning - Our middle school students were taken to a sweet potato field, where they spent all day gleaning. For those who may not know, gleaning is a practice established in Old Testament law. Farmers were instructed by God to leave some of their harvest in the fields for the poor to harvest and eat. The modern version of this the farmer harvested only one round of sweet potatoes and then has allowed ministries to come out and dig up more. They are then bagged and taken to the food bank. We had 122 7th and 8th grade students digging in soil!
Freshmen - Thrift Shops - We always send our freshmen to thrift shops. We want them to see that other people live on less than they do and that new is not always better. We want them to understand
that they can help in a variety of ways. We divide them between With Love From Jesus, the Mabopane Foundation, and two Thrift 2 Gift Stores. They do a variety of things, from sorting clothes to cleaning to decorating Christmas trees to organizing food to checking out customers. Basically, they do whatever the store owners ask them to do. I like visiting these sites because kids have usually found some strange, interesting, vintage item that they would want to buy themselves. This shows they are gaining a perspective on the materialistic world they are soaked in. In past years, many students have returned from these stores and organized their own food drive because they saw a greater need than they knew.
Sophomores - Service Homes - We want at least one year of their experience to include interacting with the people they are serving. There are several homes or day centers in the area that deal with the mentally disabled, the elderly, or those transitioning back into normal life. Since sophomores are at an age where they can interact appropriately, we send them to those homes. They are able to have meals with the people, play games, have Bible studies, and generally get to interact. Because of the personal interaction with people so unlike themselves, I believe it gives them a perspective on the world they might not otherwise get. These can be some of the more difficult sites because they are sometimes seeing very difficult circumstances.
Juniors - Habitat for Humanity - We love helping Habitat. Students often report this as their favorite year because they get to build something. They get to see the end result. Sometimes, we have been lucky enough to have the construction professionals tell us about the family who will live in the house. Kids don't generally get to build things in their childhood the way they used to because we have safety-ed kids to death. Putting them in a hard hat on a construction site, swinging a hammer (or using power tools) let them see the possibilities of being makers. 
Seniors - Wherever We Can - This year, our seniors were split into two groups. One group spent the day at the Salvation Army and another at Meals on Wheels. I was unable to get to the Meals on Wheels crew, but I did get to visit the Salvation Army. They put our boys to work in the warehouse and girls in their store. It was great for them to get to see the variety of ways one ministry can help so many. I hope when they hear the bucket bell ringers this year, they will want to stop and give. One of my homeroom students was at Meals on Wheels, and while she reported some sadness at some of the circumstances she encountered, she also said, "I'm definitely more grateful for the life I have." That awareness is the beginning. We want them to take that awareness and gratitude for their blessings and pass them on to others.As a teacher, I love our community service days. I like seeing my students step out of their normal routine, move out in courage and faith, and serve others. Thank you to all the ministries who allow us to invade your routine in order to open the eyes of our kids.
One other thought - Our elementary kids participate in a lot of service as well. They just don't leave school for the day to do it. They collect coats every year for the WRAL Coats for Kids campaign. They make pillowcases for military members. Their teachers organize activities for their classes to do. I didn't want to ignore them just because this post was about the day we just had.
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