Students who participated in Alabama Action this year helped renovate two local elementary schools, Matthews Elementary and Faucett-Vestavia Elementary. The two schools were suggested by the Tuscaloosa County Board of Education.
“We were able to do landscaping, renovate hallways, playgrounds, gyms and the front of the schools, as well as build outdoor classrooms,” Susan Alley, program director of Alabama?Action, said.
Students not only assisted in renovations, but also interacted with students.
“I was able to feel a sense of achievement that I helped out this school,” Grant Nicholls, an Alabama Action participant, said. “I think that Alabama Action is a positive experience for everyone who ?is involved.”
Students who participated in Outdoor Action had the opportunity to do service learning projects centered around local environmental issues, including projects at the Army Corps of Engineers Recreation Areas such as Deerlick Creek Campground, Foscue Campground and Jennings Ferry Campground. Students also had the opportunity to spend the day at Lake Lurleen State Park clearing trails, painting, removing invasive plants, picking up windfall branches and sprucing up the park.
“I receive a lot of positive feedback from the community,” Outdoor Action program director Randy Mecredy said. “When you bring a group of 100-plus students (80 freshmen and 20-plus upperclassmen) into a community it is difficult to go unnoticed. They spend about 12 hours a day for a week before school starts participating in activities that enable them to interact with other students from all parts of the country and all walks of life. Next week when classes begin, they will already have 100 new friends and something ?in common.”
The Black Belt Action program partnered with the Berean Baptist Church Head Start Program to start to develop projects for their pre-K schools in Marion, Alabama. Among these projects were replacing the front sign for the building, repairing and painting a wooden ramp leading to the playground and painting the front patio of the school
“We believe the work we do with Black Belt Action is very important to the community in ways that are both tangible and intangible,” Henry Downes, Black Belt Action program director, said. “The projects directly meet an expressed community need but they also serve as a call to action for our partners in ?our community.”
Over the past few years, Honors Action has become an avenue for students to become actively engaged in the? Tuscaloosa community.
“My favorite part of working with Alabama Action is seeing schools transformed, the students and faculty at the schools elated over the finished projects and the freshmen getting plugged into a community of like-minded individuals,” Alley said.. “This program is a great launching pad for an active and engaged experience on campus for these students.”
