The City of Refuge, located at 565 Tallassee Road, is shown. Students from Clarke Central High School , Cedar Shoals High School and Classic City High School will join together to collaborate on the “Unity in the Community” service project on Oct. 6. At 5:30, which was organized by member of the schools’ student government associations. “I’m hoping that the students who are helping and volunteering actually see the impact it’s making not only on Athens but the surrounding counties as well,” CSHS Student Government Association President Reese Rodriguez said, “If (students) walk away with anything, I would want them to walk away with the fact that they helped somebody else who can’t help themselves.” Photo by Maypop Wren
Students from Clarke Central, Cedar Shoals and Classic City High Schools will unite for a community service project through City of Refuge on Oct. 6 from 5:30 to 7:45 p.m..
Students including Student Government Association members from Clarke Central, Cedar Shoals and Classic City High Schools will volunteer for “Unity in the Community” service project at the Athens City of Refuge on Oct. 6.
The community service project will take place through City of Refuge, an organization that provides resources and support to people in need throughout Athens and surrounding communities. According to CSHS school social worker and SGA adviser Angela Gay, the project will bring students from all three high schools in Athens for the first collaboration of its kind between the schools’ SGAs.
“The goal is to bring all of our high schools together, our non-traditional high school, which is Classic City High School, and then our traditional high schools, Clarke Central and Cedar Shoals, to work together for the betterment of our community.” CSHS social worker and SGA adviser Angela Gay said, “(The goal ) is to do a service project that’s going to benefit individuals, families and students that are in need of food assistance.”
Students will arrive at City of Refuge at 5:30 p.m. on the day of the event and receive an orientation before beginning different service tasks. Tasks will include packing food boxes with items such as cereal, oatmeal and canned goods, preparing snack bags with items such as granola bars and fruit snacks, and breaking down boxes for recycling.
“It’s important to be involved in your community because it helps you see a different aspect of your community that you may not be aware of, and also to learn about the various resources and services that we have in Athens,” Gay said. “Some students may have never heard of City of Refuge, or may not even know it exists.”
“One of the biggest struggles throughout the schools is the rivalries,” Rodriguez said “ I want to do an event where we’re not only helping Athens, (but) we’re helping everybody within all the school districts.”
— Reese Rodriguez,
CSHS SGA President
CSHS SGA President Reese Rodriguez, a senior, came up with the idea after participating in the Superintendents Advisory Council, where students from all three schools in Athens worked on cross-school collaboration.
“One of the biggest struggles throughout the schools is the rivalries,” Rodriguez said “ I want to do an event where we’re not only helping Athens, (but) we’re helping everybody within all the school districts.”
The CCHS SGA leaders met with advisers and student government representatives from CSHS and CCHS to establish the event’s location, schedule, structure and registration. They created a Google Form for students to sign up and shared information about the event through social media.
“I hope that (students) learn that instead of just focusing on individual stuff, like Clarke Central or Classic City or Cedar Shoals, it’s cool to have friends in other schools.” Rodriguez said, “(Students) can take this moment as a time to see ‘Hey we can actually work together and make an impact.’”
