Atticus Wehunt kept the glasses filled.
Jim Fair
Jensen Howard cleaned the plates.
Jim Fair
Chandler Creek Elementary student council members spent Tuesday at the Greer Soup Kitchen performing tasks that included serving food to washing dishes.
Jim Fair
Who said kids couldn't have fun before work? Left to right: Molly Burke, JJ Callaham and Atticus Wehunt.
One would think scraping food off plates would be least preferred to playing with school friends.
Not so, said Jensen Howard. “I would like to come back here every day this week,” Jensen said, after working quickly to keep his line moving.
Jensen and other Chandler Creek Elementary student council students, grades 3 – 5, worked at the Greer Soup Kitchen Tuesday. School was out because of elections.
“He wants to do this,” Lynn Pennington, a third grade teacher, said emphasizing Jensen’s heart-felt comment.
Martha O’Neal, operations manager for Daily Bread Ministries, had briefed the students during a talk on what they could expect to see and do. The students picked the jobs they wanted to perform – filling drinks, serving, cleaning and washing dishes.
“They had their eyes opened today,” Pennington said. “They were told they would see children here who go to school with you. How do you think you should act and deal with it knowing this many people are here?”
The students performed professionally. “We’ve got a lot of good help today. They are terrific,” Jim Carpenter, a regular volunteer on Tuesday, said.
The students initiated the idea of community service. “They wanted to be service oriented,” Jessica Preisig, a teacher, said. “In their speeches ideas came up with community. A lot of kids not elected to council also wanted to help.”
Preisig said there will be a lot of discussion at school. “These students will go back to their grade level and first and second grades and talk about what they did and saw. More students will want to help.”
Student council members who volunteered were:
Cale Bellinger
Molly Burke
JJ Callaham
Toby Cates
Jensen Howard
Kiersten Howard
Will James
Jeremiah Judd
Jasmine Marcus
Alex Olmert
MacKenzie Prince
James Sheenan
Riley Stanton
Atticus Wehunt