Class of 2012 participates in annual Great Day of Service

Brentwood Home Page news reports
Ravenwood High School senior class recently participated in the 5th annual Great Day of Service, with students picking one of 15 different worksites.

Daphne Yasco and Hallie LeMasters help Brightstone participant Tara Christian

Mitch Thompson, Nick Ivanoff and Samuel Stevenson move  final pallet at Second Harvest Food Bank, where 30 others packed 980 lunches for WCS students.

Maddie Lindley, Mychael Childers, Austen Barrett, Christ Padget help out at Monroe Harding

All of the 461 RHS seniors participated, unless they were absent that day from school, covering everything from gardening and landscaping to interacting with senior citizens.

Teacher Donna J. Smith said the experience at Second Harvest Food Bank in Nashville was a huge success with 33 students participating.

“We worked collaboratively as a team to bag 980 lunches for students throughout Williamson County,” Smith said. “Students will receive eight items in each of their lunch bags. Our team was amazing.”

The food bank team set up three stations with 10 students at each station. Three other students put together boxes and pallets and moved pallets to the storage area.

“During the time we were working, not one student had to be reminded of the task at hand,” Smith said. “We took pride in our task while students worked diligently towards their goal of building four pallets. We are so proud of our students.”

Judy Barnette went with nine Ravenwood seniors to Brightstone, which is a day school for developmentally challenged adults. The adults are there every day from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m..

“Part of that time they learn how to make things in order to sell them later,” Barnette said. “There are four different rooms where adults were working. Our students split up and a few worked in each room.

“I was so blessed when I walked around to see our students interacting with the adults, asking them questions, laughing at their jokes, helping them do whatever they were doing. The students absolutely did a fantastic job at Brightstone.”

Kristen W. Cherry accompanied 15 students to Elmcroft, an Assisted Living/Alzheimer's care community.

“The students who went did an amazing job of talking with the residents, giving manicures to the women, giving a hug or holding a hand when it was needed, and even leading a group of Alzheimer's residents in a chorus of You Are My Sunshine,” Cherry said.

“Sometimes talking with the elderly, particularly those with a diminishing capacity for memory, etc., can be difficult: Do we talk to them like adults or like children? I was very proud of our young ladies and one gentleman, because they jumped right in, even if they didn't know exactly what to do.”