Berkeley Receives Hillsborough County Florida 2010 Community Service Volunteer of the Year Award

Berkeley’s Community Service program was recently recognized by Head of Volunteer Services at Head Start Laura Rice with the Hillsborough County Florida 2010 Community Service Volunteer of the Year Award. In December, Berkeley students and faculty came together during a school-wide initiative known as “Wrap-In” to collect and donate gifts to local charities. The Hillsborough County Head Start Program is just one of several organizations that benefited from this service initiative. Head Start offers preschool children of low-income families with a comprehensive learning program to develop the language and social skills the children will need to be successful in school.


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For more than 13 years, middle division students have performed community service at three local Head Start centers. Students assist the Head Start teachers by planning and participating in activities like reading, music, drawing, individual and group play, and conversation. This year, as part of the “Wrap-In,” Berkeley students also donated toys in hand-decorated gift bags to the children at Head Start. “It was a thrill to be recognized by Head Start,” said Middle Division Assistant Director - Curriculum Buck Johnson. “Our kids are enriched by the experience just as much as the Head Start children benefit from our volunteer efforts.”

Support of the local Head Start program is just one of many community service projects that students participate in throughout the year. Overall, more than 1200 children in prekindergarten through grade 12 at Berkeley collectively perform in excess of 25,000 hours of community service each year.