Embedded Files
What does it mean to serve others? In this week-long service trip, students will put their hands and hearts to work, exploring the place where our “deep gladness meets the world's deep need.” We believe every person has a unique passion for making a difference, and this trip is designed to help students discover theirs.
Throughout the week, students will engage in meaningful service projects with local organizations addressing issues such as food insecurity, animal welfare, and housing instability. Participants will roll up their sleeves and tackle projects that help the community while enriching their own understanding. Service will be paired with reflection: students will use Harvard University and Project Zero's Visible Thinking Techniques to process and discuss their experiences.
Day 1
Day 1
We were so proud of our group today! They worked hard at both Medicine Horse (cleaning animal stalls and getting hay ready) and the Humane Society (beautifying the pet cemetery before playing with some animals!), and they were respectful to our hosts. We have a great group!
Day 2
Day 2
We had a wonderful excursion to Denver today! Our focus was on food insecurity and housing instability.
We visited Denver's Project Angel Heart in the morning and learned about how they prepare and deliver 2,000 medically tailored meals for neighbors living with severe illness each week. We decorated the food bags to send messages of happiness and encouragement to the neighbors.
We stopped in Five Points—often labeled one of Denver’s "least safe" neighborhoods—to eat and chat with residents. We first had a discussion on how historical demographics fuel stigmas that rarely reflect a neighborhood's true character. The kids were struck by the community’s warmth and safe feeling, which brought the disparity into focus for them.
Our day ended with a visit to Dry Bones, which partners with homeless teens to provide them support and companionship. Robbie, our host, shared how Dry Bones stands on three pillars: Everyone has worth, everyone belongs, and everyone deserves unconditional love. He encouraged our kids to bring those pillars back to Dawson and live that way toward others.
Tomorrow we will be meeting with Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett to find out how Boulder is helping the homeless and then visiting TGTHR, which supports youth experiencing homelessness.
Day 3
Day 3
We took a deep dive into Boulder homelessness today, both witnessing it firsthand as we walked along the river to get to our destinations, and conducting some deep information gathering.
We first met with Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett, who was fabulous with our group! He met us in the Council Chambers and led a Q & A with your kids. You would have been impressed with the questions they had! The Mayor shared that the mission in Boulder is Housing First-- getting folks into homes before solving higher level issues and needs. He encouraged us to partner with All Roads (https://allroadsboco.org/) as we look for opportunities to make a difference.
In the afternoon we met with the Development Director and the COO of TGTHR (https://tgthr.org/), which is working to end youth homelessness in Boulder. They, too, have a Housing First philosophy and have partnered with an affordable housing group to provide residences at their office location in downtown Boulder. They have launched an initiative in Denver, and they had not heard of Dry Bones-- so we were able to make that connection for them! Partnership opportunities abound! They also shared that they have teamed up with Medicine Horse. Our kids are starting to see how the non-profit and community service world is interdependent.
Day 4
Day 4
We braved the high winds and power blackout in Eldorado to do some rugged trail maintenance! Our ranger, Mike, treated us to one-of-a-kind service projection-- helping fell and clear a tree. We hiked a mile and a half up to where a Douglas Fir had died after a beetle infestation. Mike explained how the tree died, taught the kids about chainsaw safety (for all of you thinking of buying your kids chainsaws for birthdays), and showed them how he would make cuts to fell the tree.
After the tree came down, we used the branches and some trunk pieces to hide what are called "social trails"- trails that wandering park visitors have made and which disturb animal and plant life. We camouflaged the trails so that visitors would be less likely to use them, allowing plants to grow and animals to move back to the area.
During lunch, kids counted the tree rings to see how old the tree was and used their Ms. Terry science skills to note robust growing seasons and meager seasons!
After lunch, we cleaned up some picnic areas and then headed home- with a pitstop at DQ!
Day 5
Day 5
What a successful day! We are infinitely proud of your kids for the planning, collaboration, and presentations today!
After we met in our morning circle, students began collaborating in groups or working solo to dream up service projects that could involve the entire school and make a difference locally.
Groups could either brainstorm on their own or use an AI conversation agent that we created in Gemini (try this prompt if you ever need help dreaming up a service project... you might have to tailor it to whatever your family wants to accomplish instead of our aims).
After lunch, the kids "pitched" to each other, practicing their public presentation skills, and got some solid feedback from peers. They were more brutally honest than our professional judges!
Three of the projects were greenlit for next year, and two projects that would have been sent back to the incubator instead chose to team up with the greenlit projects. The greenlit projects have each received $1,000 seed money and will be meeting with Ms. Slagel to plan for next year. Each project will also receive the backing of the National Junior Honor Society and the School Culture Working Group.
Greenlit: Ayla's "Happy Care Bags," which provides thoughtfully curated and personally decorated care bags for people struggling with housing instability, will welcome the collaboration of "The Stations" project, led by Emoline, Annika, and Elin. Ayla's project will give the bags to service organizations that know how to strategically and personally hand out bags.
Greenlit: Laszlo and Soren's "Project Smokey," which benefits the Longmont Humane Society and seeks to flip the waiting line from animals waiting for owners to owners waiting for animals, will welcome the collaboration of the "Animal Awareness" project, led by Aless and Aaron. Stay tuned for what may be the first annual "Dawson Best in Show," featuring animals from Longmont Humane!
Greenlit: Clare's "Trash to Art" project will give the community the chance to turn trash into art projects. One of the phrases that caught the judges' attention was "Creativity can turn waste into something meaningful." Clare will seek the consultations of Robert Bellows of Warrior Storyfield (who works with veterans to create large metal art installations), Ms. Bell and Ms. Hein, two of our Dawson art teachers, and Mr. Schnitzler, Dawson Facilities Manager.
One of our judges, who regularly hears project pitches, remarked that these students did something that many adults don't do-- present feasible ideas backed up by metrics and data. She said that projects often include "heart" but are often missing the tangible next steps and numbers to back up the dream. Our kids brought it!
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