This year’s National Student Leadership Week theme, “Making a World of Difference,” is especially significant for two reasons: It embraces and encourages service—a pillar of the National Honor Societies—and it supports the two-year NASSP Student Leadership Initiative: Global Citizenship.
To fuel your members’ creativity, we dug into the National Student Project Database to discover five clever service projects that support the initiative’s strands.
Equity
Special-Needs Prom
The students of Pennridge High School in Perkasie, PA, host an annual prom for special-needs adults. Held in the school cafeteria, the event features refreshments, a DJ, and student council dance partners. Guests come dressed in their best outfits. “Our students enjoy hosting the prom as much as our special friends from the community enjoy participating,” reports adviser Mike White.
Civic Engagement
Wall of Honor
NHS members at Trout Lake School in Washington created a Wall of Honor. Students filled out a form to provide a service member’s name, time of service, military branch, and the sponsoring student. A flag of red and blue paper served as the framework, and completed forms created the flag’s white stripes. The display was placed in the school’s main lobby. “I heard comments like, ‘I didn’t know my uncle actually fought at …’ or ‘My uncle served under …’ ” says Laurie Sherburne, NHS adviser. Students discovered a connection between their families and the history of our country.
Positive Social Change
MAD (Making a Difference) Cards
Students at Lake Hamilton High School in Pearcy, AR, distribute index cards imprinted with “Thank you for making a difference in my life. All I ask of you is that you send this card to two people who make a difference in your life and stay anonymous.” Students who receive the cards pass on the message, sometimes attaching balloons and treats to make it more special. The school reports, “By doing this project, people realize that with just a smile or a simple hello, they can make a difference in someone’s life.”
Empathetic Actions and Wellness
Can the Principal
Are your food drives getting too canned and stale? Consider this idea from Notre Dame High School in St. Louis, MO. Challenge students to collect nonperishable food items and store them in the principal’s office with the hope of collecting enough food to force the principal into the hallway. Notre Dame’s drive worked, with the student body donating 3,985 cans.
Awareness/Perspectives
White Ribbon Week
Students at Rockdale County High School in Conyers, GA, sponsor White Ribbon Week during the week of Valentine’s Day to teach teens about the physical, social, and emotional dangers of early sexual involvement. The week helps students “take charge of their lives with information to avoid giving in to negative peer pressure,” says Kristen Meador, school pride chairperson.
Encourage members to share their ingenuity on social media using #MakingGlobalChange and #NSLW17, or visit www.makingglobalchange.org.