Being a student-athlete involves a tremendous amount of time and commitment, especially while in high school. If an athlete is one of the chosen few to play in college, that commitment is magnified even more.
So, when the subject of being active in the community to help others comes up, the initial reaction might be, “When would I find the time?” Well there is one school in Columbus, Georgia that eliminates that question.
Welcome to Brookstone School. It’s a small school with large ideals. One of those being striving to instill the values of servant leadership in every student by living out the attitude, “Serving Others, while Developing as Leaders”. The school believes since athletics are an extension of the classroom, student-athletes should engage in community service to promote their growth and well-being.
Play Book athlete AJ Harris recently had a chance to give back to his community while working with Feeding the Valley, an organization that provides food for those in need in Columbus Georgia. The non-profit food bank, a United Way partner agency established in 1983, distributes an average of more than 6.7 million pounds of food on an annual basis in partnership with more than 225 agencies in a 14-county area in Georgia and Alabama. The organization has been at its Columbus site since 1992.
Here below, AJ is working with one of his classmates sorting food and getting bags ready for distribution.
“It’s truly a blessing to attend a school like Brookstone,” says AJ. “They build in time for the students to give back to their community.”
Community service is a simple “giving back” concept that helps to uplift those in need. And although student athletes already have a lot on their plate, AJ doesn’t feel as if it is too much to ask to help those that don’t have enough on theirs. “My school has a couple of different organizations that we can volunteer for, but at my church they always say church isn’t inside these four walls. It is out in our city, community, workplace, school,” he said. “That’s where you let your light shine on behalf of our father and that’s how you play a role in peaking interest to see what church is all about.”
AJ says it makes him feel good and happy knowing that the homeless people in the greater Columbus area will get some good meals.
