A key component of the Kingsport City Schools Guiding Tenets is to develop a community that is fully engaged, while supporting students in their academic, physical, and emotional development.  As a part of that effort, students and staff continually seek service opportunities and ways to positively impact our community, both local and beyond.  It’s a focus that helps us all see how our collective talents and gifts can better our world.

November has been designated as “KCS Charity Month.”  It’s a time dedicated to joining together in service to others by recognizing the needs in our community and empowering students to find solutions.  Lives can be changed through this collective effort, as over 7,000 individuals from KCS strive to make a difference.

This week in the Saturday Six, let’s take a look at some of the ways KCS students and staff are impacting our community.  We are #OneTribe!

1. A focus across the district is on meeting needs related to hunger in our community.  Students seek how they can F.E.E.D. (Feel, Engage, Empower, Do it!) others, not looking at the initiative as an “extra” project, but creating an ongoing attitude that strives to nourish the hunger of others, be it for food, resources, or nourishment of the heart!
2. The KCS middle schools have taken the F.E.E.D. concept to heart!  Robinson Middle School and Sevier Middle School are both actively pursing ways to gather resources to support those in need.  Robinson is in the middle of a Thanksgiving food drive for students and families, and Sevier is supporting Operation Christmas Child and continuing to provide donations to those effected by flooding in Texas.
3. The students and staff at Dobyns-Bennett are incredibly active in service both at school and throughout the community.  Student clubs and organizations that meet both during and after school work with local organizations to provide resources and services to make Kingsport a better place.  You’ll find D-B students volunteering in our local hospitals, churches, and community organizations.  Some students even volunteer in our own KCS schools.  The D-B YES! Club provides valuable mentoring and support to elementary students throughout KCS.
4. Service projects are also in full swing at all KCS elementary schools.  Students and staff are hard at work collecting food for holiday food baskets, supplies for agencies such as the SBK animal shelter, and holiday cards for veterans.  For instance, 100 handmade or store-bought cards will be delivered to veterans at the VA nursing home and VA domiciliary for homeless veterans through the efforts of KCS students, and holiday cards will also be sent to soldiers deployed around the globe.
5. Food drives are taking place at all elementary schools, supporting agencies such as Second Harvest Food Bank and the KCS Family Resource Center. Students and staff are also helping children have a brighter holiday through the Adopt-a-Student program with Angel Tree, providing warm items such as gloves and mittens to those in need, and helping those effected by fires in California.
6. And as a school system, the KCS Family Resource Center also continually provides items such as food, clothes, and backpacks to KCS families.  As the colder holiday season approaches, many students in Kingsport will have the opportunity to have a new warm coat and a great holiday meal thanks to the efforts of all involved with the Kingsport City Schools FRC.

November is a great time to focus on how we can support others!  Thanks to initiatives such as Charity Month, the students and staff of KCS can continue to seek ways to improve the lives of all around us.

Next week in the Saturday Six:  November 13-17, 2017 is American Education Week in the U.S.  We’ll take a look at some of the phenomenal educators making a difference in the lives of KCS students, and celebrate the women and men that give so much to make Kingsport City Schools a world-class school system!