Summit Academy- Canton students and staff are preparing pragmatically, intellectually and thoughtfully for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a National Day of Service. Staff members and students from Project REBUILD, a local nonprofit organization focused on supporting out-of-school youth, will join in the effort.
Ahead of the January 15 holiday, students are doing dry runs through Summit Academy Community School – Canton where they will organize and pack books for charity, clean door handles and stairway handrails and, weather-permitting, pick up litter outdoors. They are also preparing for this national holiday mindfully and empathetically, engaging in compelling conversations about Dr. King’s civil rights work and unwavering courage and the need to carry on his legacy for their generation and those to follow.
“This day of service is for everyone, students, staff and parents,” says Community Resource Coordinator Jason West, who is organizing the inaugural event. “I think it’s a great opportunity for everyone to come together in service to our community just because they want to. When we all come together we uplift each other and in the end, you feel good about spending your time doing something good for the community.”
More than 30 students, parents and staff members have already signed up to participate in the day of service, including seventh-grade students Zoreya and Leo.
“It makes me feel happy to help other people, and it’s kind,” says Zoreya, emphasizing how donating books to children in need reflects Dr. King’s goodwill.
“Helping out the community is a number-one priority right now,” adds Leo. “People do so much harm to the environment and, today, they still disrespect black people. We can keep Martin Luther King’s legacy going, keep doing what is right. He stood up for people’s rights and many treated him like garbage for it. He was just a great person and, to this day, he still is.”
Both Summit Academy schools in Canton will engage in service activities from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the K-8 community school at 1620 Market Avenue South. In addition to the physical tasks, the participating students and adults, most with the schools’ Parents Teachers Students Together association, will collectively create a pathway of ideas to improve conditions in their world. They each will cut out a paper footprint and jot on it ways they can change the world for the better. Taped to the floor, the paper footprints will trail down the school’s main hallway.
“I am incredibly proud of the Canton schools,” says Principal Tiffany George. “It is easy to think of yourself; it is much more powerful to think of others. I am honored to have dedicated students that are willing to take a moment to give back to their school and community. I have no doubt that the event will be amazing, and I am excited to see how the community is blessed by this incredible act of kindness.”
In addition to their service on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the secondary school students in grades 9-12 have engaged in other community outreach such as clearing litter at Nimisilla Park and packing bags of food at the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.
“They loved it,” says West. “Getting out there, showing kindness, doing good for others and just being nice without expecting something in return … We all deserve to be treated with respect.”