MADISON — The morning of September 29, a handful of Edgewood High School (EHS) students were to be found tramping through the mud and rain in a garden outside of Madison, some 10 miles from their desks.
Far from skipping classes, though, these students were getting experience in the lessons of sacrifice and helping their community.
The students were taking part in an annual school-wide event called Edgewood in the Community Day, in which high school students engage in service projects at locations around the Madison area. The more than 50 non-profit organizations benefit from about 4,000 volunteer hours provided by not only the students, but also faculty, staff, and parents.
Helping others
“Over all the years Edgewood has been doing this, it’s been helpful to get the one-time projects done, get a fresh cleaning of the building,” said Andy Russell, director of the Catholic Multicultural Center. “This year, it happened to fall at harvest time.”
The CMC, which is operated by Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Madison, participates in the Madison Area Food Pantry Gardens, where a group of students harvested a significant amount of produce that will go to food pantries of Community Action Coalition, the CMC, St. Vincent de Paul, or the Harvest Food Bank of Southern Wisconsin. Some of those vegetables, fruit, and squash would end up in the homes of clients by the next day.
“It makes you want to make the most out of everything,” said freshman Grace Wall as she helped fill buckets with pumpkins. “The fact that it could be helping someone right now is great.”
Another advantage to the day, she added, was the opportunity for her to meet a number of other students from the nearly 645-student high school.
“Some of these people here I’ve never seen before,” she said. “So it’s a good chance to bond with people; it’ll help me prepare for the next three years.”
That preparation will be for more than just getting to know other students at the school; in addition to this day of volunteer work, EHS students continue to volunteer throughout the year as part of the school’s mission, supported by a 100-service-hour graduation requirement. According to the school, the majority of EHS students more than double this requirement, with some giving over 1,000 or more hours through their own commitment and effort. About 26,000 hours of service are provided annually, at least half the hours worked outside high school efforts.
Learning about sacrifice
Senior Joe McKenna has spent his years at EHS volunteering through activities such as Eager Readers at St. James School and at Attic Angels in Madison.
“It helps others — it gives back to the community,” he said as his justification for doing the volunteer work.
The day in the community, despite the steady rain and the muddy fields, was a good opportunity to learn about sacrifice. “It gives me a more open mind — to help others instead of sitting every day in the classroom,” he said. “Sometimes you’ve gotta sacrifice yourself in order to make a difference.”
It isn’t only the students who benefit from this experience, said Kathy Wall, French teacher at Edgewood High School, who was with the students at the garden, picking produce with the rest of them. All of the faculty and staff — everyone from the secretary to the janitor — comes out to help, she said, leaving only a skeletal crew at the high school.
The experience highlights one of the principal values of the Dominican tradition that forms Edgewood High School’s foundation, Wall said. Through the day, the students see the faculty supporting the efforts, showing need to work as a community to help the community.
“Especially at this site — there are few kids who have a connection with the land, to connect with the land and to realize the sacrifice the farmers make daily, and the sacrifice it takes to feed people. Plenty of kids have worked at food pantries, helping, but this give them another perspective.