Tyler Street Christian Academy students volunteered for an afternoon service project at A Wider Circle in Silver Spring, MD, while visiting Washington, D.C., on May 20th. Sixteen TSCA High School students were in D.C., May 18-21, as part of a Joshua Expeditions educational tour. As a way to honor and remember time spent there, students and chaperones dedicated part of the trip to help nearby citizens of Washington.
Students were moved by the opportunity to give back to the area they enjoyed touring. Elizabeth Saucedo, a TSCA sophomore remarked, “It felt good to help others who are going through a rough time and are less fortunate.” When asked about his experience, sophomore Daniel Amador-Ponce stated, “We got a chance to sacrifice a little of our time to do something good for someone else. Getting dirty and messy was worth the benefit of helping others.”
Many students are already making plans to attend TSCA’s next biannual trip to Washington, D.C., and feel that having the service project on the tour increases the benefits of the trip. Another sophomore, Thomas Mejorado III, stated, “It was a very good experience to help someone else out. I encourage others to do it since it requires so little of our time and effort to do something important for others.” In fact, Thomas further mused, “If we could get even more students to attend the next trip, our contribution to helping others would be even greater.”
A Wider Circle is a non-profit organization whose mission is to end poverty for individuals and families. The organization works with individuals and volunteers to help ensure every child and adult has the chance to succeed and the opportunity to live well. During the volunteer service project, TSCA students helped move and sort donated items to be used by recently homeless or displaced clients of A Wider Circle.