8th Graders Reflect on Serve-A-Thon

As another Serve-A-Thon season draws to a close, we asked several eighth graders to reflect back on their many service experiences and why Serve-A-Thon is important to them. Both Abigail and William have attended ICS since Kindergarten, giving them each nine years of Serve-A-Thons! Noah began attending as a sixth grader, and has been a part of three.gleeson-abigail-39227-264145294

What is your favorite thing about Serve-A-Thon week?
Abigail: That we can serve our community and make a difference. And that we get to help raise money for our school that will have an impact for years to come.
Noah
: Watching the cute little first graders clean the rooms.
William: Definitely the service projects. I just enjoy going to the different places and serving the people there.img_9716

Is there a specific memory from this year that is special to you?
Abigail
: The kids at Garfield Elementary were really happy to see us. It was cool to get back there to see how the school was doing and see the little kids grow up.
Noah
: I remember how happy the people at Garfield were to see us because they had a new buddy. My buddy hugged me.
William: Seeing the joy on the kids’ faces when we were at Garfield.kuebler-william-40321-264145291

Why do you think ICS does Serve-A-Thon?
Abigail: To be a light to the world, to show the love of Jesus, to be a change in our community.
Noah: I think our school does Serve-A-Thon to serve those that are in need, like Garfield and Rwanda. The schools in Rwanda need [school] supplies.
William: I think we do Serve-A-Thon because we want to show other people God’s Word and to serve people as Jesus would have.

What is the hardest thing about Serve-A-Thon?
Abigail: Getting everyone really pumped for it. It’s our last year doing this so we probably need to make it count.
Noah
: Hearing the stories about how poor they are and not being able to help everyone.
William: Probably leaving [the work site]!

img_9715What will you miss about being a part of Serve-A-Thon?
Abigail
: I’ll miss the togetherness and bonding with different students and our community.
Noah
: The happy expressions of people as they help.
William: I’ll miss the excitement and the thankfulness of those that we serve.

cuccinelli-shadowens-noah-1203260-264145307Has Serve-A-Thon motivated you in any way after you leave ICS?
Abigail: It’s motivated me to be kinder to other people because you don’t know what kind of challenges they might be in. Just to be forgiving.
Noah
: It makes me feel for people and want to do something for them, like I want to give students who don’t have much the pencil out of my pocket.
William: It has made me think about going on a missions trip. Where one of the sister schools is would be quite interesting.

What would you say to all the people who donated their time or money to Serve-A-Thon?
Abigail
: You’ve made a difference in how our school works and how our community is. Thank you for making a difference!
Noah
: Good for you!
William: I’d say thank you for giving to the community and keep on doing it!

img_9728Over all your years here, what moment sticks out to you as your favorite part of Serve-A-Thon?
Abigail: When we went [to Garfield Elementary] in 6th grade, my buddy kept hugging me and couldn’t wait to see me again.
Noah: I liked playing games with my buddies Emanu and Joshua. We played a racing game where you fling a checker. I liked getting to be face-to-face with them.
William: The favorite thing I did for Serve-A-Thon was probably washing the fire trucks in 5th grade. I enjoyed seeing the fire engines and also washing them and being with the firefighters and seeing what they do.

Serve-A-Thon is the annual kick-off event for Character-In-Action, our school-wide program which strives to develop Christ-likeness in each of our students. To learn more about our Character-In-Action program please click here! Volunteers are always needed. To support ICS please donate here.