Bulldog News
Community service serves as learning experience
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
A morning of community service became a lesson in giving for students of Hillside School.
As part of their Fall Community Service Day event on November 3, Hillside students joined with faculty to engage in volunteer activities that benefited both the school and surrounding municipalities.
“This special day, which is held every semester, is Hillside’s way of giving back to our neighbors,” notes Hillside School Headmaster David Z. Beecher. “In many ways, it is also an opportunity for our students to learn the importance of volunteerism in making their world a better place.”
Several of the day’s projects featured a distinct multi-generational theme. At Coleman House, an assisted living facility for senior citizens which is located in Northborough, students serenaded elderly residents with such timeless ballads as “Over the River and Through the Woods” and “Silent Night.”
Afterwards, the students took time to speak with the residents with sometimes surprising results. Baras Lebovitz ’10, for instance, was delighted to expand upon his passion for military history through a discussion with Natalie Sroga, a retired employee of the Pentagon.
At Bright Horizons in Marlborough, the Hillside students worked with young children of this pre-school and child care center on a number of projects.
In the center’s pre-school room, Ryan Powell ’10 and Justin Wickman ’10 collaborated with several youngsters who were creating their own artistic masterpieces with crayons and paints. Meanwhile, Grant Braden ’14 and Jonathan Woo ’13 helped guide the construction of several impressive building block towers.
Perhaps the biggest hit of the morning proved to be story time. Many in the young audience were captivated as the Hillside students read several classics of toddler literature.
Other projects included sprucing up the grounds at Church of the Nativity in Northborough and First United Methodist Church in Westborough, as well as a comprehensive clean-up of The Grove conservation area in Marlborough. At the Boys and Girls Club of Metrowest, the Hillsiders not only helped with fall cleaning but also coordinated a highly competitive knock hockey tournament.
On the Hillside campus, students worked to organize the school’s lost and found room, cleaned the new Chase Chapel and did farm chores among other activities.
Immediately following the morning of service, members of the Hillside community discussed their efforts during a noon-time lunch program.
In introducing the program, Hillside School Chaplain and leading event organizer Abby Pettee noted that, through this initiative, Hillsiders “have a chance to put our core values of determination, honesty, respect, compassion and fun into action and to make a positive difference.”
Asked what he found inspirational about singing for the Coleman House residents, Lucas Stilianos ’10 of Lynnfield, MA said that he “enjoyed the opportunity to build leadership skills and to help those who were less fortunate.”
Meanwhile, Ryan Powell ’10, who visited Bright Horizons, said that he liked the feeling of “being a teacher to the little kids.”
Perhaps the student efforts were best summed up by Noah Lawson ’13 of Acton, MA who simply said about his Coleman House performance: “I really enjoyed making them happy.”
Seen in the photo below, Carol Zottoli (seated, left) and Natalie Sroga (seated, right), residents of Coleman House in Northborough, enjoy a singing performance by Hillside students (first row, left to right): Lucas Stilianos '10, Matthew Mori '13 and Noah Lawson '13. Also pictured in the photo are (back row, left to right): Ethan Butterworth '11 and Ross Osae '11.
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Grant Braden '14 reads to students at Bright Horizons.
Hillside student Ryan Powell '10 (right) works with Rennie Combs of Worcester, age 3, on her art project at Bright Horizons in Marlborough.
