PHOTOS: Blake Students Build a Legacy of Service

Blake School seventh grader Oliver Morgan was working hard at school Friday. But his work wasn’t the usual reading, writing or arithmetic. He was filling plastic bags with rice and seasonings.

Oliver was helping Impact Lives put together staples for people in starving countries—one of three service projects that were part of the seventh annual Blake Convocation and Legacy Day. The event aims to connect Blake students with one another and the world around them.

“It’s fun and also you help people at the same time,” Oliver said.

Students each belong to a group made up of classmates from all grades. They remain in the same group throughout their years in Blake. The older students eventually graduate. The younger ones move up through the grades. And even younger students come in to join the group. It’s a legacy in the truest sense.

To help the students keep track of this legacy, they receive reflection notebooks. At each Legacy Day, staff members take a photo of their group to be included in the notebook. After the day is done, the students reflect on what they did and what it meant to them. The end result is a look back at how they’ve changed over the years.

At each Legacy Day, the groups rotate between different service projects. In addition to the Impact Lives project, students also made fleece blankets for homeless shelters and built birdhouses for the Three Rivers Park District.

Dunia Chatham, a parent of an eighth grader and a Blake School alumna, said the event is a phenomenal service opportunity. She’s been to four or five and looks forward to it each year.

“I like being connected with the school and how it connects with the greater community,” Chatham said.

Do you have photos from Legacy Day? Share them with the community by clicking “Upload Photos and Videos” above.

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