The 2017 Warrior Day of Service will take place the afternoon of April 5 in a variety of locations throughout the area.
The day is an opportunity for Brainerd Public Schools students to give back to their community. Organized by Brainerd Area Youth Ministries and the school district, students in grades 9-12 are encouraged to sign up and serve with organizations in the Brainerd lakes area. The day is an "early out" day when students are released from classes early.
"We thought getting students involved with service in our community would be a great way for kids to spend an afternoon," said Dale Kuglin, director of Brainerd Area Youth Ministries, in a news release.
A new twist on the service opportunity is the chance for Forestview Middle School students to participate. Students in grades 6-7 will spend part of the school day in service with their classmates.
"We are bringing in service opportunities like Kids Against Hunger to do a mobile pack, and Sole Hope, an organization that recycles jeans into shoes for school kids in Africa," Kuglin said. "We even have a community art project for kids to work on and share."
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The high school service projects will start as soon as school is out and is open to grades 9-12. Students are released from class at 1:10 p.m., after which they will go to the launch site and meet the adult volunteers serving with them and find out where they will be serving. Volunteers will be bused and walked to the worksites which last year included Northland Arboretum, area nursing homes, Brainerd Parks and Recreation projects, Salvation Army and the Sharing Bread Soup Kitchen project sites as well as several new sites.
There will be two different lengths of time high school students can serve. Two-hour projects will be earmarked for those students involved in sports and other extracurricular activities who have regularly scheduled practices, and four-hour projects for students who can give more time.
"We were thrilled with the response from the student body last year, with about 600 students who signed up to serve," Kuglin said. "Every single worksite reported that the students finished all the work early and went looking for additional ways to serve. I think we underestimated the power and willingness of our students to serve."
To register a high school student for the Warrior Day of Service, go to www.isd181.org/activities and follow links. Forestview Middle School families will be sent home information.
For more information, contact Dale Kuglin at BAY Ministries, 218-825-9149 or Vicki Foss at First Lutheran Church, 218-829-9552.
