LWA holds first-ever MLK Day of Service

Advice, lessons and messages were doled out to Lawrence Woodmere Academy high school and middle school students as the nonsectarian private school in Woodmere held its first-ever Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service three days before the country marked the slain civil rights leader’s birthday on Jan. 20, a day that has been used to highlight his life and achievements.

There was also a seven-station service fair, where students led or took part in projects; the chorus performed at the Five Towns Premier Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center, also in Woodmere; a video conference with Karen Daniel, vice president of programs at Youth Service America; a reflection period and a faculty-student basketball game.

“The overall goal is to take the passion the students have and not just give back for one day but for a lifetime of service,” said Michelle Cicillini, who with Maggie Tucker, organized the Day of Service, along with students in their service living class and the Helping Hands Club. The 4-year-old club performs community service, conducts fundraisers and takes trips.

WE motivational speaker Mark Quattrocchi regaled the students on his recent two-year bicycle journey across the world. The native Canadian also introduced them to several facts that illustrated how much their lives are different from many of peers: 50 percent of the world’s population does not access to health care; 124 million do not have access to education; and 150 million people slept outside the previous night. WE is a philanthropic organization that aims to brings people together to change the world locally and globally.     

“We want the students to understand the amount of privileges that they have and their relationship to everyone in the world, and as kids how they can change the world,” said middle school social studies teacher Debra Orlep. “The first step is learning about it.”

Those steps have been taken by more than a few LWA seniors, who ran the service fair work stations. Basketball players, John Malinka and Larry Rhabb teamed to guide the Circle for Change program.

“What we do in the circle is we assign people or people choose their own goals and we help them focus on how they need to achieve them,” said Malinka, a power forward on the Tigers varsity hoops squad. “I would like to leave it that all the underclassmen and the juniors can promote individually and that they have the power, especially within this community to do that.”

Rhabb, a student in the service living class, said that they used the 17 global goals from the United Nations as the topics for Circle for Change. The goals range from the No. 1 priority of no poverty to No. 17 — partnerships to achieve the goal.

As a young African-American man, Rhabb said he feels an intense bond with MLK Day, but he also possesses a larger perspective. “I definitely have a strong connection to it being that he fought not for only blacks, obviously that was a main topic, but he fought for everyone,” said Rhabb, a small forward on the basketball team. “So, me in 2020, I want to not only fight for blacks, but I want to fight for everyone across the country who feels some type of interrogation towards them, who feels that they’re being put down.”

Tehya Gerbino, an LWA senior, oversaw the letter writing station that was part of the care packages being assembled for children. “I think a lot of our students are passionate about service but they don’t have an outlet for it,” she said, in explaining what she wants to leave the school. “So, I hope this continues next year, I know it will because these kids are all very passionate about it, so I’m happy to start it, and leave that as a legacy.”