The following is a letter I submitted to the Heart of the Community Foundation in October to nominate Darlington School for the Business Community Service Award. Darlington is one of only two recipients selected to receive this award at the Heart of the Community's "Affair of the Heart" event on Feb. 14, 2015. Click here to read more about the award.
Dear Heart of the Community Selection Committee,
I have experienced, firsthand, Darlington School’s commitment to encouraging its faculty and staff members to serve our community in different ways – and to wholeheartedly supporting us as we do it. Two years ago, I was asked to take on the role of president of the Board of Directors for the Sexual Assault Center of NWGA. Knowing that this would be a huge commitment on my part, I went to my supervisor and asked him for his thoughts. There was no hesitation when he encouraged me to seize the opportunity. And while, as a marketing and communication professional, I know that having our people in leadership roles throughout the community is “good PR” for Darlington, the school’s focus was on me and what I would gain from the experience.
This was not the only instance in which I saw school leadership support and embrace my community involvements. In 2011, I served on the Hospitality House’s Walk a Mile in Her Shoes Committee. When I brought the event information to our administrative team, they jumped on board right away, encouraging participation among faculty, staff and facilities crew members who were able to attend. Darlington had more than 45 participants in the walk to end domestic violence that year (more than any other company or organization represented). Last year, I was asked to be part of the Citizens for Progress Committee, which worked hard to educate our community about the most recent SPLOST package and how it would improve our quality of life in Rome and Floyd County. When I told our administrators that I would be representing Darlington on this committee, they were thrilled and more than willing to sit down with me to talk about ways that they could assist me in my efforts – both within our school community and outside its gates. Currently, I serve on the boards of the Sexual Assault Center, the Greater Rome Convention & Visitors Bureau and as a co-shadow for the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Rome program. Not only have my supervisors signed off on my involvement with these organizations, they have supported and encouraged me along the way.
You see, at Darlington, “Service Beyond Self” is so much more than just a stanza of our School Motto. It has been part of everyday life at Darlington since the school’s founding in 1905. Darlington students of all ages have been organizing and leading servant leadership efforts for decades, and several years ago, we actually made it a requirement that Upper School students complete a minimum of 15 service hours each year.
Every day of every week includes after-school service opportunities at local organizations like the Boys & Girls Club, McHenry Primary School and the Open Door Children’s Home. Some of the most impactful service opportunities happen right here on campus, including blood drives to honor members of our community who are battling illnesses and Darlington’s own Light the Lake cancer awareness event each spring. And last summer, two staff members led a servant leadership trip to the Dominican Republic – one of several international service opportunities in recent years. Additionally, each athletic team sponsors one more service efforts each year. In less than a month’s time, our cheerleading squad has already sponsored a Pink Out for cancer awareness while one of our seniors has created Knots for Nanny to make blankets for chemotherapy patients. As you can imagine most of our students blow the 15-hour community service requirement out of the water. In fact, last year’s graduating class of 134 students completed more than 11,000 service hours in their four years at Darlington! This year, in addition to the regular service opportunities each week, I have already seen groups of students working at the local food pantry and volunteering at a local retirement home.
I have no doubt that we would not see such incredible success in our Servant Leadership Program if our faculty and staff members were not consistently modeling “Service Beyond Self” in their own lives.
When I decided to nominate Darlington for the Employer Community Service Award, I began to survey our faculty and staff members to survey them on the kinds of service activities they are currently involved with – I was blown away by the number of responses I received. Currently, the board presidents of the Boys & Girls Club and the South Rome Redevelopment Corporation are Darlington employees. Several of our staff members serve on committees for the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce. Two of our employees lead local Boy Scout troops; one helps others with triathlon training; while another works with Rome Little Theatre and volunteers his time at theatres around the state. One of our nurses volunteers in the archives at Rome Area History Museum and is also a first responder and lead nurse for the Red Cross NWGA Chapter Disaster Action Team. Several employees are involved with Junior Service League and even more are active at their respective churches, serving on committees, working with youth, teaching Sunday School, volunteering at the community soup kitchen and more. But our faculty and staff members’ good work does not stop in Rome and Floyd County. We have teachers and staff members who work with national and international organizations. The past three summers, one of our employees has traveled to Africa to deliver donated soccer gear and conduct clinics with coaches; one teacher is an educational consultant for Unlocking Autism; and another employee helps coordinate the Southern Association of College Admission Counselors’ Silent Auction, which will benefit the Extend the Dream Grant. (I could go on and on, but I would exceed the three-page limit for nominations.)
Additionally, as a school, Darlington supports a variety of annual events that benefit various community groups, hosting several right here on campus so that our students and employees can participate in them. Seven years ago, 2013 Heart of the Community recipient Beth Smith, a Darlington teacher and 1987 alumna, went to administrators with an idea – a youth triathlon on Darlington’s campus to benefit the Boys & Girls Club. Not only has this event grown exponentially and raised thousands of dollars to support very deserving children, but it continues to be a wonderful opportunity for our entire school to work together toward a common goal. Students, faculty and staff members spend a Sunday morning working side by side – overseeing each leg of the triathlon and cheering on the participants (who come not only from our school community, but from the community at large and throughout the Southeast.) Another great event hosted on campus, and one of my personal favorites, is the Special Olympics. Each spring, approximately 200 students from around the county converge on Darlington’s Chris Hunter Stadium for a fun day of physical activity. This event is hosted by the freshman class, but faculty and staff members are a big part of the day, too. Those of us whose schedules are flexible get to spend the entire morning working with these very special children, cheering them on, and seeing the pride and excitement they feel as they finish each event station. Darlington is also a loyal supporter events like the One Book, Many Voices community reading initiative; Junior Service League’s “Follies;” R.A.C.E. Rome’s fall triathlons to benefit the Open Door Home; and the Sexual Assault Center’s Rome Celebrity Dance Challenge, to name a few. We have employees who serve with and help lead each of these organizations.
In closing I’d just like to say that Darlington School’s unwavering commitment to servant leadership; its dedication to integrating “Service Beyond Self” into purposeful programming at every grade level and into the overall culture of the school; and our administrators’ encouragement of our faculty and staff – and of me, in particular – are among the reasons I love my job. I will be forever grateful to Darlington and, specifically, to our school leadership for the service opportunities I have been fortunate enough to have during my 11 years as an employee at the school. Without their support and encouragement, I would have missed out on experiences that have been extremely fulfilling to me on a personal level, and which have helped me to grow as an individual and as a leader. It is for these reasons that I think Darlington School is more than deserving of the 2015 Business Community Service Award, and I respectfully ask that you accept my nomination and consider Darlington this year.
Sincerely,
Tannika Wester
Rome, Ga.
