Hunger, Homelessness, and Loneliness

In a school focused on service, 8th and 9th graders shined in their work with their community's hungry, homeless, orphans, and elderly.

The classes researched service opportunities in their community.  The 8th graders focused on the needs of a local soup kitchen and orphanage.  Both organizations were low on volunteers, and welcomed the students' open hearts and able hands.  The 8th graders learned firsthand what it takes to run a soup kitchen, calculating supply costs, planning menus, cooking meals, and helping maintain the building and facilities.  They also regularly entertained children living in an orphanage, preparing for each visit by creating books and games tailored to those particular children. 

The 9th graders met with staff at a local nursing home and learned that many of the elderly residents were extremely lonely.  The students soon realized the residents were eager to talk about their memories and were a wealth of information about times the students had only experienced through textbooks.  The 9th graders began asking the nursing home residents about the Depression and World War II.  They assembled the stories into a book, and presented it to the nursing home as a record of the residents' contributions to history.

Adapted from "Route to Reform: K-8 service-learning Curriculum Ideas," © 1994-95 National Youth Leadership Council.