Darlington's senior, junior, sophomore and freshman classes will take part in different organized service-oriented initiatives throughout the spring. This year marks the first that each class has a dedicated single-day event to help plan and execute for an organization not directly affiliated with the school.
"Finding a meaningful service project for each grade in the Upper School was a challenge that we wanted to accomplish," said Reba Barnes, director of servant leadership. "It is a great bonding opportunity for each class to do something out in the community as a group."
Upper School classes will participate in a student-led project on the following days:
Thursday, March 17
(11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.)
Boys & Girls Club West STEM Field Day, Class of 2016
Darlington's senior class will treat Boys & Girls Club youth to a fun, educational field day. Groups of kids and senior buddies will rotate through sports, science, art and music stations.
Thursday, April 28
(9 a.m. - 12 p.m.)
Floyd County Special Olympics, Class of 2019
Freshmen will partner with the Rome-Floyd Parks & Recreation Authority to host the Floyd County Special Olympics on campus. Students will assist with the athletic events, concessions and lunch preparation, and will also cheer on the participants.
Friday, April 29
(9 a.m. - 12 p.m.)
McHenry Primary School Field Day, Class of 2017
Students now in the junior class will return to McHenry to help put on the school's field day as their service project for the second consecutive year. Juniors will be in charge of different stations including face painting, egg toss, relay races and more.
Friday, May 6
(9 a.m. - 3 p.m.)
Pepperell Primary School Field Day, Class of 2018
Sophomores will work and play with children at Pepperell's field day, run different interactive activities for pre-kindergarten through second grade, and help set up and take down for the annual event.
"We take a lot for granted. Servant leadership makes us humble and grateful for what we have in life," added Barnes. "It's about using your hands and feet. There is always a need for money, but the service component is needed more."
As a part of Darlington's Servant Leadership Program, students in grades 9-12 volunteer each week with a variety of different community organizations. Every student engages in a minimum of 15 hours of servant leadership during each school year. All service projects are student driven, and reinforce a commitment to live by the school's motto of "Wisdom More Than Knowledge, Service Beyond Self, Honor Above Everything."
To date, Upper School students have spent over 8,100 hours of service giving back to the Rome-Floyd County community in the 2015-16 school year alone.
