Last year, when they were campaigning for Student Council President and Vice-President, Lakehill Preparatory School senior Haley York and junior Brandon Douglas promised to increase community service opportunities for high school students, in addition to the multitude of school-wide service projects and grade-specific initiatives.

 

On a recent Saturday, they stood behind their platform at the kick-off event for a new Upper School organization dedicated to service. The Warrior Outreach Organization (WOO!), will participate in a variety of service projects this year, in addition to the Holiday Luncheon for Senior Citizens on December 12 and the Upper School Day of Service in January. "Everyone loves the Upper School Day of Service," said York, "so we thought, why not do that more? We wanted to create more opportunities to bring the whole high school together and continue that service throughout the year. WOO is our way to bring the school community together to help causes that are important to us." 

 

"Students are always looking for more ways to serve," continued York. "It's nice to wake up on a Saturday morning and start the day by doing something positive." Saturday's event, a Shoreline Spruce-Up at Lakehill's adopted shoreline at White Rock Lake, attracted eager students from across all grade levels.

 

Students are already excited about the next WOO project, scheduled for November 15: working in the thrift store for City Square, an organization that offers a variety of poverty-fighting programs throughout Dallas. In addition to the Upper School Day of Service on January 23, WOO also has projects scheduled forFebruary 21 at the North Texas Food Bank, and April 18 at Community Partners of Dallas. 

 

With the positive response to their first event, York hopes to have even more participation in the next project. "I hope this creates a new tradition for students in Upper School."