On Friday, September 12, the sophomore class served at Union Gospel Mission, helping around with anything needed, such as sorting foods, toiletries and folding envelopes. The sophomores saw what it is like as an everyday job to serve for those people.
“We try to make the best opportunities here at this school, and helping people in need is one of those opportunities we’re given,” James Hanson ’28 said.
The sophomores most clearly represented two of Country Day’s core values–kindness and respect–while serving at the Mission.
The students learn that it is important to approach these types of trips with an open mind and help out as much as they can, representing not only themselves, but the School as a whole.
“I enjoyed my experience at Union Gospel [Mission], I got to spend time with my friends and give back to my community as well,” Logan Francis ’28 said.
Felipe Parra, upper school advisor and art and code teacher thinks the school can help with resources and should normalize going there each year.
“I really like the experience,” Parra said. “The people there were very welcoming and I really liked the structure that they had at the place, it was very organized. The school should make this something more regular. I know that those places can use all the help that they can get, and I know the school has a lot of resources that we can help them with.”
The students in Parra’s advisory helped by organizing foods and toiletries into different boxes. Towards the end of the trip, the students used teamwork and helped fold and seal envelopes together.
“We broke off into two different groups, in my group we went to the pantry and distributed items where they needed to go,” Francis said. “After sorting foods we folded envelopes and each person would do their own part.”
The sophomores loved this trip so much that they would serve there again and bring friends with them for some extra help.
“You can’t ever be too big to give back to your community. I would love to go back and I would even bring my friends with me,” Francis said.
Fort Worth Country Day doesn’t just take the students to serve, but also to learn. Learning does not always happen in a classroom.
“I think it’s more of a learning opportunity for us to understand what these people are really going through and how we play a role in their lives,” Hanson said.
The trip also involved another advisory, Mrs. Wallace’s group. They helped by organizing matching sizes of shirts and pants for the people there to take if they needed a clean set of clothes.
The Union Gospel Mission is located in Tarrant County, 1321 East Lancaster Avenue, Fort Worth, and according to their website their mission is to “provide Hope, Respect and New Beginnings to our unsheltered neighbors through discipleship and the transformational love of Christ,” according to ugm-tc.org.
Through service, time, and teamwork, the sophomores proved that you can learn valuable lessons by giving back to the community.
