Students to volunteer Thursday during Parkview Cares Day

(From the City of Springfield)

Instead of spending the day in the classroom tomorrow, Parkview High School students will be volunteering at dozens of sites in Springfield as part of the third annual Parkview Cares Day.

Freshman, sophomore and junior students don yellow volunteer T-shirts and spend their day performing a wide variety of tasks. Seniors spend the day job shadowing with a professional in their field of interest.

Planned activities include working in a clothing bank, reading to elementary students, painting, and preparing emergency food kits.

"Parkview Cares Day is our way of giving our students the unique opportunity to get up close and personal to learn about and give back to their community in meaningful ways," said counselor Joyce Cooper, Parkview Cares Day organizer. "This is one of the most highly anticipated events of our year and our kids love the experience of being out for the day, sometimes getting their hands dirty and engaging in activities they might never get to do otherwise."

Several Parkview Cares Day locations are located in Springfield’s Zone 1, including Boys and Girls Clubs, Study Alternative School’s clothing bank, Westport Elementary and Middle School, Campbell Elementary School and The Rare Breed. Zone 1 is the area of Springfield that city and community leaders have targeted for an 18-month-long“blitz” to improve quality of life and begin programming to lift people out of poverty.

Parkview Cares Day is made possible by a grant from the Foundation for Springfield Public Schools, and reflects the goals of the Parkview Leadership School by showing students the value of serving others and learning leadership in the process. The hours they spend volunteering count toward their Leadership School requirements.

The Leadership School, the only one of its kind in the district, is a specialized program where students discover their unique leadership skills while taking ownership of their learning, which helps set them up to take charge of their future.

The program fosters student achievement by creating a culture that promotes integrity, trust, loyalty, courage, responsibility, respect, compassion and humility, as well as the confidence to positively influence others.

Students are provided additional opportunities to learn, communicate, and practice their personal leadership skills in a variety of authentic, hands-on experiences by partnering with our local business, service, governmental and educational communities. Students who complete the four-year Leadership School program earn a Leadership program transcript, letter of recommendation, and a signified diploma for a distinction in leadership. Qualifying students will have opportunities for leadership scholarships.