Helpful efforts recognized

High school, 69 students get national awards for community service

Perry High School and 69 of its students have earned national awards for their involvement in community service activities.

The high school students, most of whom completed the Perry Service Learning program in 201920, received accolades in the second annual National Community Service Awards program.

The program is sponsored by the United Nations Association of the United States of America and InnerView Technologies.

This program is designed to connect high school and college students’ community service activities and commitment to the 17 sustainable development goals that the United Nations set to transform the world by 2030. The UN established the list of goals in 2015.

Perry High School and the 69 students garnered separate Community Service Impact awards for progress they made toward achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal No. 4: Quality Education.

“Youth efforts and voices are essential to achieve the SDGs,” said Rachel Bowen Pittman, executive director of United Nations Association of the United States of America, in a news release “These awards allow us to share our appreciation for youth leaders who have invested talent and effort in the causes they care about.”

Perry Service Learning is an elective for seniors at Perry High School that combines English and social studies curriculum with volunteer opportunities to promote social involvement through education and service. Of the 69 award winners, 67 completed the PSL class, one had enrolled in the course but dropped it after the first semester, and the other student was a member of the school’s United Way Club.

The collective activity of students enrolled in PSL this school year delivered 7,759 service hours and personal activities to address local needs, the news release stated. This achievement earned Perry High School an Emerald Award in the school and group category of the National Community Service Awards program.

In this classification, awards are presented at three levels: Sapphire, for schools or groups with students who have logged a total of between 2,000 and 4,999 hours of community service; Emerald, 5,000 to 14,999 hours; and Ruby, for 15,000 or more hours.

“Although it’s notable that the PSL class of 2020 served 7,759 hours, more impressive are the connections they made with community members in classrooms, hospitals, soup kitchens, after school programs, senior centers and nursing homes,” said PSL co-teacher Mark Soeder. “This class learned early on what we are all learning now during this (novel coronavirus) pandemic — that relationships matter and we need one another to thrive.”

The National Community Service Awards program also recognizes individual student winners in tiers, classified by hours of service. The Merit Award goes to students with 2039 hours of community service; Honor Award, 4099 hours; and Ambassador Award, 100 hours or more. For this year’s laurels, these activities must have taken place between June 1, 2019, and April 15.

Forty Perry High School students received Ambassador Awards, while 27 captured Honor Awards; and two secured Merit Awards. All 67 of the school’s Ambassador and Honor Award recipients completed the PSL class.

Students from 305 high schools and colleges in the United States were recognized in the second annual National Community Service Awards.