As the hustle and bustle of graduation subsides, students are busy wrapping up another year of community service projects.
Teachers, advisers and staff have provided Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School students several opportunities throughout the year and have encouraged the students to seek out areas of interest to provide services to the communities within the district.
“I think it’s wonderful when our students go out into the community,” said Stephanie Gruber, school counselor at WBHS. “It gives them a sense of purpose greater than themselves, and they get to interact with their community members of all ages.”
Gruber believes that learning something new, as well as working on skills such as teamwork, communication, perseverance and patience, are all part of the community service experience. She also noted that the Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District has 47 local scholarships that are available for students, and that 12 of them ask the applicants to list their community service on the application.
“Those students who go out and find their own community service hours usually find it pushes them out of their comfort zones, which is a benefit in itself,” Gruber said.
Recently, the village and Town of Wittenberg hosted a large-item pickup event with Harter’s Fox Valley Disposal. For those who needed assistance getting their large items to the curb, Megan Rothmeyer, WBHS principal, helped coordinate this event with student council adviser Ken Matsche.
A bonus for Matsche was that the five-boy crew he supervised helped Gloria Bowman, the widow of a teacher he had in school. Stuart Bowman taught algebra and general math during his 31 years at WBHS. Matsche was a freshman in 1997, the year Bowman retired.
“I really enjoyed him as a teacher and later when he would come back to substitute,” Matsche said.
For Gloria Bowman, having the boys come by to move some furniture to the curb was a big help, and she was glad to know they got credit for their service. It didn’t surprise her that there were students willing to help out, as she related that this area has been a great place to work and raise a family.
“There were a lot of teachers who started the same year Stuart did and many of them still live here,” Bowman said.
In total, Matsche brought five boys to three houses and moved large items like sofas, beds and recliners. Working together to remove these items required planning, trial and error, and the ability to switch to plan B. At one house, the struggle with a narrow door and awkward-sized sofa proved to be a perplexing problem. One of the boys, who actually lives across the street, ran home for a sledgehammer. A few whacks later, the sofa and the awkward size was no longer an issue.
The National Honor Society is an organization that requires members to work on community service projects all year long. According to Christina Priewe, NHS adviser, the students are selected by a faculty committee appointed by Rothmeyer.
Students must attend monthly meetings, take part in whole-group service projects and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or better. In addition, students chose an individual service project to complete each year based on what they are passionate about. This can be done individually or in small groups, depending on the size of the project.
Students are encouraged to share their interests and talents to make a difference and positively impact others. This year, a lot of projects focused on food – hosting bake sales to benefit local humane societies, hosting a cookie decorating workshop for children to raise money for wildfire relief in California, teaching a class on authentic Ukrainian cooking with funds donated to a Wisconsin Ukrainian organization, hunting and donating more than 100 pounds of meat to food banks.
They organize, advertise and execute their events independently from start to finish with guidance from the adviser as needed.
This year, members collectively donated more than 200 hours of service and raised more than $2,000 for charities.
“On May 21, at our induction ceremony and senior celebration, we welcomed 21 new members, have 14 second-year members returning and graduated 18 members,” Priewe said. “NHS is very grateful for all of the support from families, friends, staff and community members.”
Everyone benefits from community service projects
