Mckinney Courier-gazette > News
MCA students volunteer services: Giving and serving the community
It's a wonderful life -- it truly is -- and it can be so for others if you're truly willing to share goodwill through charity work, officials say.
By Jim Kilpatrick, McKinney Courier-Gazette
Instead of hitting the books or pulling out the Gameboys Friday, students from McKinney Christian Academy's upper school set out to help their fellow man.
Accompanied by teachers and parent volunteers, the group served the community for nearly six hours.
"This is basically a day of community service," said Sandy Sims, director of missions. "They [the students] are out in the community to meet the needs that are there."
The quarterly event began last year.
"Every quarter our students from the seventh through the twelfth grades go out and do community service in McKinney," said Director of marketing public relations Suzette Johnson. "We had faculty, staff and parents with them during the day."
The students were placed in 16 locations throughout McKinney.
"They may be doing clean-up, yard work helping to organize at the food Pantry or Chestnut Square," Johnson said.
Groups of 10 to 15 students visited five local elementary schools, assisted living facilities, the Art House, the Meals on Wheels Thrift store, the Samaritan Inn Silver Threads store, Chestnut Square and the Food Pantry.
"We have 186 students working in the community," upper school principal Keith Bollinger said. "I think this is a great opportunity for our school to be an asset for those that are in need."
It is something special that MCA can do, Bollinger added. The students collected and sorted canned goods at the Food Pantry and helped a community volunteer teach art lessons at the Town Creek Apartments. They also served tea, coffee and homemade cookies while they were there. Other volunteers were at the Stonebridge Country Club preparing for a charity golf tournament.
Sims, who created the event, said it takes a lot of time and work to put this together.
"I started working on it during the summer," Sims said.
During March students will be not only do the local mini-missions but will be going overseas to Russia, Mexico and Jamaica.
"With the hurricane being so close we will be able to travel down to Houston area and find people that will still need help," Bollinger said. "That is our term goal anyway."
The students will be serving in the community again on Nov. 14.
Contact Jim Kilpatrick at jkilpatrick@acnpapers.com.
By Jim Kilpatrick, McKinney Courier-Gazette
Instead of hitting the books or pulling out the Gameboys Friday, students from McKinney Christian Academy's upper school set out to help their fellow man.
Accompanied by teachers and parent volunteers, the group served the community for nearly six hours.
"This is basically a day of community service," said Sandy Sims, director of missions. "They [the students] are out in the community to meet the needs that are there."
The quarterly event began last year.
"Every quarter our students from the seventh through the twelfth grades go out and do community service in McKinney," said Director of marketing public relations Suzette Johnson. "We had faculty, staff and parents with them during the day."
The students were placed in 16 locations throughout McKinney.
"They may be doing clean-up, yard work helping to organize at the food Pantry or Chestnut Square," Johnson said.
Groups of 10 to 15 students visited five local elementary schools, assisted living facilities, the Art House, the Meals on Wheels Thrift store, the Samaritan Inn Silver Threads store, Chestnut Square and the Food Pantry.
"We have 186 students working in the community," upper school principal Keith Bollinger said. "I think this is a great opportunity for our school to be an asset for those that are in need."
It is something special that MCA can do, Bollinger added. The students collected and sorted canned goods at the Food Pantry and helped a community volunteer teach art lessons at the Town Creek Apartments. They also served tea, coffee and homemade cookies while they were there. Other volunteers were at the Stonebridge Country Club preparing for a charity golf tournament.
Sims, who created the event, said it takes a lot of time and work to put this together.
"I started working on it during the summer," Sims said.
During March students will be not only do the local mini-missions but will be going overseas to Russia, Mexico and Jamaica.
"With the hurricane being so close we will be able to travel down to Houston area and find people that will still need help," Bollinger said. "That is our term goal anyway."
The students will be serving in the community again on Nov. 14.
Contact Jim Kilpatrick at jkilpatrick@acnpapers.com.
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