Days before the Providence Day Freedom School opened this past summer, Amelia Barber helped cut out safari hats to decorate a jungle-themed classroom.

The sophomore also took charge of organizing classroom materials such as markers, crayons, glue sticks, and colored pencils. She lugged heavy boxes and helped instructors decorate their classrooms.

On the first day of Freedom School — a summer program that provides resources for students in grades K-8 throughout Charlotte’s communities to inspire a love of reading and learning — she helped kindergarten through second-grade students throughout the day, including watching them during lunch.

Volunteering is essential, Amelia says, because it brings you closer to a community.

“No matter which communities you belong to, in order for it to improve and become the best that it can be, it requires a commitment from each and every member of the community,” she says. “Volunteering is what makes communities dependable and effective, so I believe that volunteering is more than just an act of service, but instead an obligation we share to improve our communities, one step at a time.”

Amelia is one of the dozens of Providence Day students who earned a President’s Volunteer Service Award during the 2023-24 school year with hours of service.

The national award honors individuals “whose service positively impacts communities in every corner of the nation and inspires those around them to take action, too,” according to the website.

Providence Day students amassed 5,247 hours of community service during the last school year, which is remarkable considering the school does not have a community service requirement.

“Students don’t have to do service; they want to do service,” says Jennifer Bratyanski, Upper School Community Engagement Coordinator. “That’s a big difference. It’s authentic.”

‘Make a tangible difference’

Dev Dwivedy’s service to the Charlotte community is inspiring - and exhaustive.

He serves students in the Charlotte community through Wayfinders, a local charity that provides enrichment to under-resourced youth. The senior tutors and helps with event set-up and fundraising. He’s also the founder of Wayfinders’ youth ambassador program and organizes volunteers through school clubs to serve the charity.

Dev does sustainability work through RecycleBalls, an international organization that upcycles used tennis balls. He’s collected and reused more than 30,000 tennis balls.

One of his most impactful contributions has been an app he developed called Journ-E, which is designed to help student-athletes relieve stress and reflect on their personal growth. The app encourages mental well-being by combining AI-powered journaling with a user-friendly platform, allowing athletes to document their experiences and decompress.

“Volunteering provides the opportunity to make a tangible difference while developing personal skills like leadership, empathy, and problem-solving,” Dev says. “For others, volunteering can be a pathway to discovering new passions and making a meaningful impact. It fosters a sense of responsibility and compassion, enriching both the volunteers and those they help.”

Whether students volunteer for churches, camps, or local nonprofits, they earn enough points for gold, silver, or bronze medals.

Anna Brainard, a senior at Providence Day, earned a gold award for volunteering at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library for the Mecklenburg County Teen Court, Augustine Literacy Project, and the National Charity League.

For the National Charity League, she helped deliver a bed to a nine-year-old girl’s family. The girl had never slept in a bed before.

“I remembered her excitement when she first saw the bed,” Anna says. “This experience was a catalyst for my deeper involvement within the community. The more I serve, the more kids can sleep in a bed.

“Volunteering completely changed my perspective. Today, we still have families who live without furniture. I have learned a valuable lesson: to appreciate what I have and not to take anything for granted. You might not believe it, but Charlotte has many volunteer opportunities.”

Providence Day’s DNA

Ms. Bratyanski says for Providence Day students, serving others isn’t about the medal they can earn but about helping others.

“Service is in our DNA,” she says. “Providence Day students graduate knowing that service is in their DNA. It just reflects a purpose beyond themselves: supporting all the communities they interact with. And they continue to do it beyond Providence Day, which is one of greatest things we can hope for from a graduate.”

Since 2017, Providence Day students have contributed a total of 20,642 hours of community service.

“Thanks to the Freedom School community and the communities it connects me with, I have never felt a greater sense of belonging,” Amelia says. “Volunteering is a necessary part of creating a better tomorrow, and if other students are involved, then it means more and more people are striving to create a brighter future.”

She continues: “I believe that it is critical specifically for students to volunteer because regardless of any responsibilities, volunteering can provide you with a deeper understanding and connection to your world. In order to be truly well-rounded, students should look to volunteering as a means of broadening their world views and perspectives.”

The following students earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award for 2024:

Gold: Abi Bloomfield, Alex Shi, Anna Brainard, Bissum Singh, Campbell Stuart, Dev Dwivedy, Elise Patel, Emery Boonshaft, Finn Dillard, Isha Dwivedy, Kate Schaffer, Kenan Adams, Maddy Padmanabhan, Maya Khimji, Morgan Taylor, Mason Nobili, Morgan Nelson (graduated in 2023), Nathan Li, Paige Thompson, Prableen Kaur, Shaili Vemuri, Shwetha Iyer, Trayi Yada, and Will Hamilton.

Silver: Amelia Barber, Eli Coblenz, Kate Hayes, Mali Pillai, and Will Sanders.

Bronze: Campbell Dascal, Corey Margulis, Dilara Erikci, Ella Gerber, Jada Probst, Leyla Moustafa, Lia Tucker, Sia Matai, and Sophia Hood.