Traveling is more than just a way to spend your time. It’s an investment in yourself that pays off by creating lifelong memories and experiences. My experience in stay and play proved this most enjoyably and excitingly, showcasing the many ways we as citizens can improve our communities by providing a helping hand for the communal improvements of our community. While also treating ourselves as a reward for doing so.
Our first day at Stay and Play consisted of packing goodie bags for Patriotes. We learned about the safety hardships and challenges our deployed soldiers face and also the homesickness these soldiers face while on duty. Packing goodie bags with jokes, candy, and Christmas cards also further brought out the creativity and the willingness of students to make these soldiers’ days better and provide them with a piece of their home. Providing our deployed soldiers with goodie bags not only provides them with goods they may not have in the area of deployment but also provides them the support they need while on duty during the Holidays. After the highlight of the day, Oakwood students returned to Oakwood and watched The Batman(2022) movie while also eating pizza and hanging out with friends.
On our second day, Oakwood students went to serve at the Food Bank of ENC, where students inspected and bagged sweet potatoes. The teachers also proposed a Challenge to make bagging potatoes more fun. The challenge was for the first group to finish their entire container of Potatoes to be declared champion. With the fuel to reach the last bag of potatoes, each group devised strategies to complete each sweet potato bag. Sometimes, in the heat of competition, you forget what it is that you’re trying to accomplish. But towards the end of the competition, students joined together and helped each other in completing their sweet potato bags. Through volunteering at the Food Bank of ENC, students learned the importance of teamwork, coordination, and unity. Students also learned of the good the Food Bank of ENC does for the Greenville community and the sectors ENC is responsible for when it comes to providing food. After serving at the Food Bank of ENC, students went to The Carolina Ice Zone to ice skate. Before ice skating, though, students enjoyed lunch at Fire House Subs and enjoyed some Dunkin Donuts. Then, Student began Ice skating; some were good, while for others, it was their first time. Oakwood students who had difficulty in ice skating showed grit by taking on the challenge of ice skating and trying regardless of the possibility of falling. Those who fell got back up on their feet and tried again. Oakwood students who were good at skating didn’t gatekeep any secrets of possible improvements and helped out students who were struggling. This ice skating experience might have been intimidating for some students, but with the help of their peers, they, too, overcame this fear.
The Third day of Oakwoods Stay and Play consisted of a trip to Raleigh for a shopping day at South Point Mall. Students brought money to buy various goods to treat themselves with. For students who never visited the South Point Mall in Raleigh, this was an exciting experience. Students brought shoes, jewelry, phones, and new outfits of their choice. All in all, this trip was a fun way to celebrate and spend time with other friends.
On the fourth day of Stay and Play, Students prepared bagged lunches for the Homeless. Students made peanut butter sandwiches and provided other non-perishable goods for the Homeless. While creating the lunches for the Homeless, students felt grateful for their possessions and grateful to be able to help the homeless by providing them with lunches. Students learned the importance of food and other day-to-day things they might have been taking for granted. Students also helped each other achieve this task by dividing up the work evenly and completing their work diligently. The fourth day of this trip was, in some ways, a reality check for the students and how their ability to help can make a difference in someone’s life, after preparing lunches for the homeless, students designed T-shirts via bleaching. This allowed students to spend more time with their friends while creating fun bleached T-shirt to remind them of their time they spent together.
The Final day of Stay and Play consisted of Oakwood students helping lower school teachers by setting up play dates and reading stories to their lower school classes. Students read books to the little kids and enjoyed spending playtime with them, while the Lower school teachers were given a break to relax for all the hard work they do. Students talked about how cute the little kids were and how they wondered what they were like at this age. Students set up a good example for lower school kids by showing them to be respectful and kind to each other. Overall, Students enjoyed spending time with the little lower schoolers, and the teachers were given a well-deserved break.
**[Kanishka Dhaliwal]**
**[11/8/2024]**
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