LA PLATA, Md. (Feb. 24, 2009)—More than 300 seventh-grade students at Theodore G. Davis Middle School in Waldorf helped collect canned and boxed goods for Lifestyles of La Plata as part of their student service learning projects.
The donations helped create 500 food baskets in November for needy families and students kicked off the project at the start of the 2008-09 school year. The students also created incentives for others to participate, such as hat day or discounted tickets to a school dance. Additional goods that were collected through the project were sorted and donated to Lifestyles earlier this month.
Students were responsible for all aspects of preparing the goods for donation, from checking decoration dates and sorting the goods into categories, to labeling boxes and loading the Lifestyles truck. Each student will also write and submit a reflection essay about their participation in the project.
Service-learning education links academic learning with student service that benefits the community. Service-learning includes academic preparation, service activities and structured reflection. Students study the community, identify problems, propose solutions, implement the solution and reflect the impact of the service.