What is Summer of Service?
Summer of Service (SOS) is a service-learning summer program hosted by Rochester Community Education for youth entering grades 5-12. During each two-week session, students will work in teams to perform service projects in our community, witness the missions of local service organizations firsthand, and reflect on how their personal talents can be used in service to others. SOS participants are also challenged to consider the strategies non-profit organizations use to help their communities.
Making an impact in our community
This year, Summer of Service is partnering with Good in the 'Hood to "shoe away hunger." In this case, a shoe can have monetary value as a recyclable or resellable item. We partnered with the Rochester Chamber of Commerce to help SOS participants brainstorm ways to creatively advertise the shoe drive and tap into our community's resources.
Your shoe donations will fund programs that feed more than 4,000 hungry local residents each year.
A Student's Perspective
Willow Creek student Felix opened up about participating in SOS this year, “I thought it was a really good experience for building kindness and being able to communicate with other people, being able to help out those in need. Seeing how many shoes we got shows how much kindness is in the world.”
“Summer of Service taught me about the responsibility of helping our community. Overall, my years of SOS have taught me that if you can do a tiny thing within the community, it can make a big impact.”
Families or students interested in participating in Summer of Service next year, visit https://www.rochesterce.org/sos and watch for our Summer Catalog in March 2025.