by Asher Hirt ’25
April 2024
The opinions expressed here are strictly those of the author and the students interviewed and do not reflect the views of University School of Nashville or the Peabody Press.
USN has navigated its way through Community Action Day for decades, excluding the 2020 covid year. Community Action Day stands as a way for students to escape classroom droughts, have fun with friends, and make a difference within the Nashville community.
Cameron Parsons and Valentin Barrera- Vinha ‘24 paint at Worker’s Dignity for their Community Action Day activity.
This year the event was organized by Binyam Dunne ‘26, Asauda Radford ‘25, Gidgie Bass ‘24, and Nick Venable ‘24. They organized the months prior to sending students off to go volunteer.
Around early September, these students start the hefty process of planning the day. They start off by figuring out which sites students will go to. They ask previous Community Action Day sites if they are available and interested in becoming one of the sites students volunteer at for the current year. Finally, closer to the actual day of, students will be broken up into groups and assigned a specific site for the day.
On February 7, students took route to 25 different sites across Nashville. Each site presents a unique and different experience; however, for every student the goal remains the same. Students are encouraged to continue to serve even after Community Action Day has ended.
“What we truly want out of this process is for individual students to take that next step and reach out to these organizations,” Dunne said. “Initially it is about having that first day of fun and hanging with your friends, but we hope students will take matters into their own hands.”
Sam Jackson ‘25 had fun working at a Habitat For Humanity warehouse.
“We picked up trash and helped sort their inventory around. I had a good group so it was pretty solid and it was a nice little break from a day of [school] work,” he said.
Thomas Mauries ‘24 took every moment of his last Community Action Day and made it the best possible experience.
“I think that it is what you make of it. For me, I had a lot of fun and felt good about the work I was doing. I know other people did not enjoy it as much but I think the most important thing is to come into it with a positive mindset to get the most out of it,” he said.
Liv O’Hara ‘25 with a group to the 440 Greenway to clean up the areas along the highway.
“It was a good time to socialize with people while helping do something positive for the environment,” she said.
Juniors Jade Parella, Liv O’Hara, Anna Picasso, and Margaret McKay work on the 440 Greenway for Community Action Day (via the Peabody Press).
However, students like Jack Schwarcz ‘24 felt that Community Action Day is not what it should be. His group went to Whitsitt Elementary and played with kids on the playground in a sort of interactive physical education class. Schwarcz was confused about the impact and importance of his work on Community Action Day.
“I think Community Action Day is a good idea, but not when all I do is play with kids on a playground. It does absolutely nothing for the community. I would rather do something that actually helps with problems that Nashville has.”
In recent years, students are not given a way for them to choose between the numerous options available to them. But in past years, students were sent a survey that could help indicate what sorts of locations they would be interested in going to. Reintroducing this element of choice into next year’s Community Action Day could possibly make students enjoy the day more. Not only that, but also, students who are excited about where they are going will give more enthusiasm and output into the service.
The school can only do so much when pushing students to be more active in the community when it comes to volunteering. A notable aspect that confuses many students is the fact that USN chooses to have no requirement for volunteering hours. It would be a major decision if USN decided to implement this into one of the requirements in order to graduate. Many schools in Nashville’s area require students to volunteer, yet that almost defeats the purpose of what they are trying to accomplish. Superintendents across the country have different views on this.
“If you say to kids they have to go to an old age home or have a coat drive, they will do it, but it is not self-directed, and teaching kids to self-direct and make good decisions is important,’’ said Geoffrey N. Gordon, the Port Washington superintendent. ‘’I don’t believe in mandatory community service, I believe in volunteerism.’’
No matter the view on Community Action Day, USN will continue to be a part of this annual practice. Students will and should be encouraged to take the experience presented to them and further volunteer themselves into something they believe in.
