By Alexandra Sukin ’15, Contributor
The headlines of a recent Enquirer article served to underscore the parade of negative economic news about our local economy. As the article in the Enquirer noted, “Families in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky are losing income, putting many household earnings below where they were in 1999.” The Cleveland Plain Dealer concluded that in 2010 an undesirable record was set when “about 44 percent of students at Ohio schools participating in the federal subsidized lunch program qualif[ied] for the benefit.” You may wonder why we, as members of the Country Day community, should be deeply troubled by these dismal statistics. The simple answer is that friends, neighbors, possibly classmates, and members of our larger community with whom we interact on a daily basis may be experiencing a precarious financial situation. As The Cleveland
Plain Dealer
article asserts, “Free or reduced-price school lunches are directly linked to poverty”.
In considering all of the community service and volunteer opportunities available to Country Day students, these statistics should serve as a reminder that there are many people within the Cincinnati community who are in serious economic need. According to Deborah Floyd, English teacher of Dean of Service Learning, local community service “helps us understand that the need is close to home. When you come from a privileged place, you don’t realize that ten miles downtown there are kids that get their last meal Friday at school…. It helps put in perspective how fortunate we really are.” Clearly, it is laudable and important for Country Day students to volunteer their time and resources to service projects which improve the lives of people in other countries, such as the fundraising for Unified for UNIFAT spearheaded by Sophie Weinstein. However, it is important to remember that there are members of our own local community who need our assistance. Accordingly, when allocating our community service commitment among all the worthwhile causes which need and deserve our attention, some portion of our community service time should be devoted to alleviating the consequences of the economic distress which has become increasingly widespread in our state and local area.
On a personal level, I have found my service activities to be gratifying because the impact has been immediate and tangible. It feels meaningful to make a contribution to help other young people in this city and see the results of my efforts. As Ms. Floyd notes, many Country Day students have made a similar choice and elected to devote a majority of their time to local community service, such as Breakthrough Cincinnati, or national community service. As a volunteer in a summer reading program and assisting in the preparation of meals for teens in troubled home environments, I have received rewarding feedback and the satisfaction of knowing that I have made my community a better place to live. As the new school year progresses, my hope is that those students who have not had the opportunity to do so will choose to participate in a service activity which benefits those people in Cincinnati or Ohio who are struggling and, in the process, improve our larger community.
