Now that COVID exemptions are gone, Jackson-Reed students once again need one hundred community service hours in order to graduate. There are countless opportunities around DC, even within Jackson-Reed. 

Students taking a gym class at Jackson-Reed have most likely heard about Kids Elite, Physical Education Teacher Desmond Dunham’s youth sports summer camp located at Murch Elementary and Jackson-Reed. Counselors can work at Kids Elite for money, but why not rack up some hours instead?

Junior Gaby Eversly-Holland earned 50 hours from working at Kids Elite one summer. 

“It was really fun. I got to meet a lot of different people and grow my personality a bit,” Eversly-Holland explained. Eversly-Holland enjoyed the environment at Kids Elite and recommends her experience to other students, especially working for hours. Interested? Find Coach Dunham in the Auxiliary Gym-he would love to share all the details. 

Stage crew is another path that many at Jackson Reed take to completing their community service hours. Jobs include costumes, building, and set painting, and volunteers are welcome to help whenever they can. The program also has a lighting and sound department, which is something else crew members could sign up for. Either way, it is a super accessible and manageable way to complete service hours.

There is a sign up sheet outside of the Black Box, and after a quick chat with Mr. Iwaneic, students are free to help any of the stage crew’s many departments. 

Sophomore Gabe Saad enjoyed doing stage crew last year as he got to hang out with his friends most of the time, and it was an easy way for him to complete many of his hours. Saad plans on completing the rest of his hours this year as a teacher’s assistant at his synagogue’s Sunday school. Ninth grader Clara Doyle completed ten hours volunteering at Martha’s Table, a nonprofit, DC-only organization. They provide healthy food plans, physical and mental health services, and education programs aimed at building and nurturing thriving communities around the city. Doyle plans to complete the rest of her hours volunteering at both Martha’s Table and doing stage crew. 

The opportunities are infinite. Who knows? You might not even want to stop after 100.•