KCD students make a difference through service

KCD makes a mark in our community through our academic prowess, athletic championships, and amazing arts programs. Another way that KCD is impacting the community is through service projects. Each year, students from all three divisions have the opportunity to participate in service learning projects whose effects are felt throughout our local community and beyond. Students and teachers have done an excellent job of identifying those in need and finding a way to make a difference.

Below is an overview of some of the many of the service projects completed this school year:

• The Upper School collected hats, mittens, gloves, scarves, and coats for Wayside Christian Mission and Cabbage Patch Settlement House. Students collected about thirty coats, thirty-five pairs of gloves, fifteen scarves, and twenty hats.
• Every year, Mr. Wilhelmi’s seventh grade science students donate about 90% of the yield from their gardening unit — usually two to three bushels of turnips. Students grow, harvest, cut, and wash the vegetables, which are ready to eat when they are donated to Wayside Christian Mission.
• About twenty members of the Community Service Club delivered holiday cards to residents at the Springhurst Pines Nursing Home. The residents enjoyed opening the cards while listening to the students singing carols. The project was led by sophomores Asya Akca and Sarah Zappone.
• The eighth grade once again made blankets to donate to the Home of the Innocents. Students measured, cut, and tied to create fifteen blankets to donate to the home.
• Over the years, the KCD Tamale Water Project, in collaboration with Edge Ministries and Sister Cities of Louisville, has funded six water catchment systems for schools in Tamale. The group is now looking to raise $5,000 in order to add water purification systems to each of these catchment systems.
• Thanks to school-wide participation, the third grade collected $580 at their annual Cookie Bazaar. This money will be donated to the KCD Tamale Water Project.
• The eleven eighth graders in Julie Riggs-Johnson’s advisee group adopted two Angels from the Salvation Army Angel Tree. The students collected over $200 worth of gifts for a three-year-old girl and a thirteen-year-old boy.
• Third graders spread good cheer at local nursing homes by caroling and visiting with residents.

Kudos to all our students and teachers who have dedicated so much of their time and effort to helping those in need. It’s great that service is a valued part of our community!