Service Learning Spring 2006

1. Service LearningSpring 2006 Ben McFarlin

2. What is so important about community service? • One of the most rewarding aspects of community service is being able to help out your community. • By participating in community service you have a chance to meet other people. • Volunteering is very rewarding and everyone should volunteer at least once.

3. Bethany Presbyterian Church • I chose to do my community service for my church, Bethany Presbyterian. • There was a work day on the weekend of the 8th which I was unable to attend, so I went and worked some over the Easter Weekend to help clean up the grounds for Easter Sunday. • I also helped build pieces to a set for a play the youth is putting on as well as help with the annual Easter egg hunt. • Lastly I took part in a talent show our church held to raise money for the youth to go on summer conferences.

4. The Talent Show • The Youth group has been going on summer conferences each summer for about 7 years now; and the church always holds fundraisers to help the youth out with paying for the trip. • One of the ways in which the church raises money is to hold a talent show and the people who come to watch donate money afterwards. • My brother, one of our friends, and me played a medley of three classic rock songs consisting of Let It Be, American Woman, and Free Bird. • My Friend played piano, my brother was on guitar and I played the drums. • There were 12 acts in all and I think the talent show raise around 400 dollars.

5. The Easter Egg Hunt • Every year since I can remember my church has held an Easter Egg hunt the Saturday before Easter for kids ages 1-10. • I got to the church in the morning before all the kids and helped hide all the eggs. • Also if any kids needed help I was there to help them and point out eggs that some of the kids might have missed.

6. Set for the Church Play • For the past two years the youth group has put on a play for the Church members to raise money for the summer conferences they go on. • This year the scene is set in Paris and they needed to have these Eiffel Towers made for the tables for which the people will be sitting. • There were nine towers I had to make and; though they were small they were quite difficult to put together. • Each tower took about 30 minutes.

7. Cleaning up the grounds • The first project I had for cleaning up the grounds around the church was to clean out and fix a birdbath fountain monument that was placed in memory of one of our members. • The pump in the birdbath fountain quit working and so the water was just at a stand still and the water had gotten really nasty and algae had covered the fountain completely. • It has not been taken care of in a while and so I volunteered to clean it up and try and fix the pump. • I used Clorox and brushes to clean the algae and took and the pump which my dad and I fixed, and then filled the bath back up with water and turned on the pump and its nice and clean now.

8. Cleaning up the grounds (continued) • The next thing I did to help clean up the grounds was to walk around and pick up any trash that was around. • There was not too much trash to pick up but there was some spread out over the Church property.

9. Cleaning up the grounds (Continued) • The last grounds work I did was to spread around hay. • There are a lot of bare spots around the church and we had some hay brought to the church which I spread out over the bare spots. • This was the hardest and longest project that I had to do. • Though it was hard, once I was done it looked very good.

10. Community Service • The church was very appreciative for all of the work that I did: cleaning the birdbath, picking up trash, and spreading hay. • The youth was also appreciative of the Eiffel Towers I built for the set. • Everyone had fun at the talent show and really enjoyed our music.