Mars Hill fourth-grader Paige Rempe of Cincinnati, Noelle Min of Mason and Kaylee McChesney of Mason empty soap into large containers for disaster relief kits at Matthew 25 Ministries in Blue Ash as part of the school’s Community Service Day on Oct. 4.
By Michaux Merhout, Mars Hill Academy
Eight local organizations benefited Oct. 4 as students at Mars Hill Academy in Mason set aside the school-day routine to get out and serve the Greater Cincinnati community.
A total of 165 students in grades 4-12 went off campus to serve, and the rest stayed behind to perform service work at Mars Hill, said Roger Wismer, Mars Hill headmaster. “Serving one another sacrificially is ingrained in our school’s culture, so we look forward to this special day where we take that love of service out into the community.”
Boys in grades 10-12 painted and performed home repairs in Hamilton to assist the Butler County SELF (Supports to Encourage Low-Income Families) program. Mars Hill boys in grades 6-9 served at the Salvation Army’s Camp Swoneky in Oregonia clearing brush to create more usable space.
Girls in grades 6-8 assisted teachers at the Lebanon and South Lebanon Early Learning Center. They cleaned and sanitized toys as well as read and interacted with the children.
At Matthew 25 Ministries in Blue Ash, students in fourth and fifth grades assembled personal care kits for disaster relief efforts. Third-graders stayed at Mars Hill to serve Master Provisions ministry by collecting, sorting and boxing gently used shoes for a mission trip overseas. They’ll also create pictures with blessings in Spanish for the children served by the Master Provisions mission team in Honduras.
Second-grade students were visited by a service dog from the Circle Tail Partners with Paws for People With Disabilities organization in Pleasant Plain. They collected pop can tops and sorted newspapers to donate. The students experienced a hands-on demonstration of what it is like to navigate the school environment in a wheelchair, given by a parent of a Mars Hill student who has cerebral palsy.
