By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Kindergartners through seniors at Bowling Green City Schools are being urged to pick up a new habit this school year.
Their success won’t be recorded in gradebooks and certainly won’t be scored on state report cards. Though routine is key, the lessons won’t involve multiplication tables, nor grammar rules … but they are lessons that when done with frequency can become habit.
These lessons are all about being nice, helping others, and benefiting the community.
In honor of its 25th anniversary, the BGSF at the beginning of the school year launched its “25 Acts of Service” initiative aimed to show students the value of serving others. This program encourages all students, from kindergartners to seniors, to perform 25 volunteer acts of service throughout the 2024-25 school year.
To complete 25 acts of service, students are being encouraged to find the joy of raking leaves for a neighbor, the rewards of reading to little ones at the library, and satisfaction of collecting food for the hungry.
Students have until April 30 to participate in 25 acts.
Midway through the school year, Joe Edens, president of the Bowling Green Schools Foundation, said he has been “very happily surprised” by students’ efforts. At every age level, students have risen to the challenge.
“How can a kindergartner join in the celebration?” Edens asked. And students responded. “They know what it means to be nice. They know what it means to help.”
District-wide students held a penny drive that raised $3,179 for the veterans banner project coordinated by the Bowling Green Community Foundation.
“That’s an example of what we aspire to do,” Edens said.
But the program does not focus just on raising money. “Dollars aren’t everything,” he said. Sometimes it’s about lending a helping hand.
“We want students to find things they care about. It’s all about habit,” Edens said.
At the halfway point of the project, students have been given the opportunity to participate in school sponsored activities, or find their own ways to help others.
“At Bowling Green City Schools, our students embody the spirit of service and giving back to the community. Over the past few weeks, they have demonstrated this in incredible ways across all grade levels,” said Jennifer Campos, the district’s director of communications and public relations.
“From organizing food and toy drives for the holidays, a Giving Tree to collect hats, scarves, gloves, and mittens for those in need, to hosting a hygiene drive and raising money to support the Dear Santa Society, our students have shown a remarkable commitment to helping others,” Campos said “These activities not only provide vital support to our community but also teach our students the value of compassion, generosity, and civic responsibility, building a foundation for lifelong service.”
DECA students helped with an American Red Cross blood drive at school, StuCrew members raised money for the American Heart Association by raffling off baskets. Elementary students made Christmas cards for older local residents, and created holiday ornaments for nursing home facilities.
In partnership with local community organizations, the foundation has a calendar at bgschoolsfoundation.com/25 to suggest some ways kids can serve others, such as:
- Seed collecting and clearing of invasive plant species in Bowling Green parks.
- Volunteering at Wood County District Public Library.
- Being a “hunger hero,” and donating food and toiletries for the Brown Bag Food Project.
- Volunteering at the Black Swamp Arts Festival.
- Raking leaves or shoveling snow for a neighbor unable to do those tasks themselves.
That is just the beginning, Stacey Higgins, a Crim Elementary teacher and board member of the BGSF, said this fall when introducing the program.
“We’re looking for new partners” in the community who can offer potential service projects for Bowling Green students. “We are encouraging all of our students to give back,” Higgins said.
The students have until April 30 to perform 25 acts of service. They will be asked to list the services they fulfilled, and to describe a good moment or feeling during their volunteer efforts.
Students who record at least 25 acts of service, and turn in a form by April 30, will receive a T-shirt and will be entered into a drawing for a gaming system or an iPad.
If a success, the program may not end when school is out this summer. “There’s a great possibility of this living on past 2024-2025,” Edens said.
