Above: Police Chief Jane Moran speaking with students at Fay School last week (contributed photo)
Last week eighth graders at Fay School got out of the classroom and into the world for a school-wide Day of Service. It was a day designed to give students a hands-on opportunity to explore the idea of service and the many ways people can pitch in and make a difference.
Before students headed out to take part in service projects in Southborough and neighboring communities, they listened to talks by Southborough Police Chief Jane Moran and resident Ashley Haseotes. Read more about what the two featured speakers told the kids in this press release from Fay.
October 18, 2012 – This morning, Southborough’s Chief of Police, Jane T. Moran, and Southborough resident, Ashley Haseotes, were the featured speakers at the kick-off of Fay School’s “Day of Service.”
Chief Moran told students, “No matter what career path you choose, you can always find a way to help others who are less fortunate than you.” She spoke about how public service can take many shapes and sizes — from dangerous and heroic acts, to simple acts of kindness and understanding — and all are important contributions. Explaining why people choose to be firefighters or police officers, she said: “We do it because we love our country, we love our citizens, and we love helping others. Helping others makes us happy.”
Chief Moran told some inspiring stories about her own extensive experience as a volunteer leader – from starting the D.A.R.E. program, to serving as Troop Leader for the local boy scouts (and helping to cultivate 25 Eagle Scouts), to starting a local Explorer Post, to simply visiting people in need and giving encouragement to those who are facing a rough time in their life. She finished by saying, “Every day we should try to contribute in some way, large or small. Especially those of us who have been given so much to begin with — we have an even greater responsibility to give back.”
Ms. Haseotes is the president and founder of One Mission, a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of pediatric cancer patients and their families. She told students that she got the idea to start One Mission during the six-month period when her son, now a healthy first grader at Fay School, was being treated for cancer at Children’s Hospital. She and her husband witnessed the many hardships that families face when a child is being treated for cancer, and they were determined to start “One Mission” to help families deal with these.
She told the students that there are thousands of worthy causes you can choose to support, and the key is to choose one for which you have real passion. And like Chief Moran, she she said that service can take many forms. She used the Special Olympics events that Fay hosts as an example. She said, “You can attend these events and cheer for the athletes, or you can volunteer and help run these events, or someday you can do what I did, and start your own organization to focus on the issue that you’re most passionate about.”
Fay’s “Day of Service” engages Fay’s 95 eighth graders in various service projects all over the MetroWest area, including Nativity School of Worcester, the Natick Service Council and Food Pantry, Project Just Because in Hopkinton, and projects right here in Southborough. Click here for more information about Community Service at Fay School.
Above: Southborough resident Ashley Haseotes, president and founder of One Mission, at Fay School last week (contributed photo)
