Goodpasture’s Service Day is just around the corner with multiple opportunities to volunteer and spend time with classmates. In a couple of weeks, on April 17, Goodpasture High School will be taking a half day of classes to go around the Nashville community and serve members of the area.
Service day is an annual event that’s been taking place at Goodpasture for years, outlining the importance of stepping back and giving back to the community.
Principal Amanda Binkley values the importance of stepping away from class on this day to serve others.
“Part of our school mission statement is to prepare students for a life of service to others,” Dr. Binkley said. “Our job is to use our God-given gifts to serve others and glorify God.”
In the past, students have volunteered around the school, at Under the Bridge, Soles for Souls, Maybelle Carter, and many more areas around Nashville. Students serve as a hands-on connection to the school’s theme each year.
“We are using service day to shine our light on the community around us. We shine when we serve. We shine God’s light,” Dr. Binkley said. “Jesus said that whatever we do for the least of these, we also do for him.
Chair of Bible Department, Heath Pickard organizes this event each year, setting up opportunities for students to give back to the community.
“Our goal is to see as many people helped by our GCS students as possible,” Mr. Pickard said.
This is a day for not only students to step away from the classroom, but it’s also an opportunity for teachers to bond with their students and serve the community as well.
“I always enjoy watching our students step out of their comfort zone and serve parts of their community they don’t always get to experience,” Dr. Binkley said. “It’s good to make connections and serve the community around us.”
Students this year can look forward to many different volunteering opportunities.
“This year we’ll be serving at Mending Hearts, Habitat Restore, Inner City Ministries, and more,” Mr. Pickard says.
Students are excited to volunteer.
“I signed up to make backpacks for children at the church,” junior Marley Truelove said. “I used to serve for Operation Christmas Child at my own church, and I always enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to helping out the children in the community.”
Along with Truelove, senior Sadie Petty is also looking forward to service day.
“I signed up to serve for the school’s theatre department,” Petty said. “I enjoy theatre and wanted to help clean up the stage before I graduate.”
Sign-ups for this event were on Tuesday, April 1, during devo.
A couple of hours spent each day, each year, serving the community produces food packed for the community, a cleaner space for our environment, and so many other benefits that help our area shine.
Dr. Binkley and Mr. Pickard hope students will appreciate this day and take away important lessons from service.
“I hope our students will use this day to connect to others, connect to their community, and celebrate the gifts God has given us,” Dr. Binkley said.
“My hope for the students is that they learn they are a part of a much bigger story than their own,” Mr. Pickard said.
Overall, Service Day is right around the corner, and students can look to sign up for this impactful day of volunteering for the community.
“So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” -Luke 17:10