Entire student body travels to Detroit for day of service

On March 28, all of Greenhills – more than 500 students and 50 faculty and staff – traveled to Detroit to engage in a variety of community service efforts, from hauling debris from decaying homes to clearing brush in parks to packaging up supplies for people in need. See photos.

“We provided more than 1,800 hours of community service in Detroit while broadening the experiences and challenging perceptions our students have of the city,” said Greenhills Service Learning Coordinator Alyssa Friendly.  “It was the very definition of a win-win.”

Greenhills student and faculty volunteers served in 15 locations throughout the city.

“It was really evident that we made a big impact today,” said junior Danny Markel, who helped spruce up Eliza Howell Park. “It was a really great feeling.”

The largest group of students – about 180 – spent the day working at demolished home sites for Blight Busters, an organization that secures abandoned buildings, and renovates and builds new homes throughout Detroit.

“We were so thankful for all the support we had today from Greenhills students and staff,” said Blight Busters co-founder John George. “Our goal is to save the world, and we’re starting with Detroit. It really is in everyone’s best interest to work together and restore the city and create the urban core we can believe in and feel proud of. It’s important for kids to learn the importance of getting involved, too. It’s never soon to learn that the more you give, the more you get back.”

“It was really cool what we did today,” concluded 7th grader Maya Millette. “It was a great opportunity to learn more about Detroit. Everyone in our group said they’d like to go back.”

In addition to Blight Busters, Greenhills students and faculty served at:

Arts & Scraps, an organization that recycles industrial materials

Bennett Elementary

Brush Park Manor – a senior living center

Davison Elementary

Detroit Contemporary, an art museum

Detroit Rescue Mission

Eliza Howell Park

Focus: HOPE, a civil and human rights organization

Foreign Language Immersion School

Forgotten Harvest, an organization that relieves hunger in the Detroit metropolitan community by rescuing surplus, prepared and perishable food and donating it to emergency food

Law-Den Nursing Home

Maybury Elementary

World Medical Relief