Students Happily "Give Back" To Community As Part Of Annual Event

Online, June 5, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Over 25 Pinkerton Academy students showed up to school on Tuesday, May 21st ready to make their community their classroom. The teenagers had signed up for the 2013 Youth Day of Giving Back which is organized by Pinkerton Academy Faculty and a local non-profit, The Upper Room, a Family Resource Center. Held for 9 years now, the Youth Day of Giving Back is a day of service that allows student volunteers the opportunity to assist Derry-area non-profits during the school day.

The philanthropic sophomores, juniors and seniors offered helping hands to agencies that each serve the Derry, NH population in a different way. Benefiting organizations include The Upper Room, Derry History Museum, Rockingham Nutrition Meals on Wheels, Pleasant Valley Nursing Center, Vintage Grace, Community Caregivers, and Southern New Hampshire Montessori Academy. While on location, the volunteers renovated offices, cleaned yards, prepared spaces for display, prepared and delivered meals to the elderly, washed windows, and reorganized spaces.

"The Annual Youth Day of Giving Back is such a positive experience for everyone involved," remarked Kimberly Bavaro, Executive Director of The Upper Room. "The Upper Room team gets excited this time every year. Not only does our building look enhanced after the students lend a hand with improvement projects, but most importantly, we enjoy seeing the excitement on the volunteer's faces. It gives us such joy to talk about our agency, and witness the moment where our mission starts to click in the students' minds. Providing them with an upbeat community service opportunity paves the road for future engagement between youth and non-profits."

Roger Konstant, co-organizer, and Social Studies Department Chair at Pinkerton Academy, explained that, "It's important for students to get involved with activities such as The Youth Day of Giving back in order to be exposed to the need in their community. Without volunteers such as themselves helping out, many populations will not be able to enjoy the everyday luxuries that others take for granted. Our students gain a strong respect for the work that local non-profit agencies perform for people in our neighborhood, and they receive a sense a pride in the help they personally provide that day. It helps our youth recognize that they can make a difference in the lives of others, and the goal is to make that a lasting idea and lifelong philosophy to abide by."

To view photos from the event, please view The Upper Room's facebook page at www.facebook.com/URTeachers.