Every year, we love taking a day off to volunteer in the community for our annual Community Service Day (CSD), and last Friday we continued the tradition. We thoroughly enjoyed getting to volunteer at Silverwood School. Read on to learn about Silverwood School’s vital work and what we were able to accomplish on CSD.
The History of Community Service Day
Since 1984, Community Service Day has been an annual Windermere tradition. One day a year, every Windermere office closes across the ten states we serve, and we dedicate the date to community service. We have collectively logged over 1,000,000 community service hours to date. From helping at our local animal shelter to assisting at a senior center, we love giving back.
Silverwood School’s Mission and Impact
For over 35 years, Silverwood School has been engaging students in project-based, hands-on learning through an outside-focused curriculum. Located halfway between Poulsbo and Silverdale, Silverwood School’s staff works to “challenge students to become confident, compassionate citizens and skilled, life-long learners – literate, motivated, and intellectually adventurous.”
Silverwood grew out of a collective desire held by local parents. In 1984, a group of parents from The Farm Montessori wanted to continue the educational Montessori experience. After a great deal of planning and work, Silverwood School was born. Silverwood partners with many local organizations. This aligns with their goal of cultivating compassionate citizens. Additionally, Silverwood is part of independent education associations since it’s an independent school.
Volunteering at Silverwood School
“The school had reached out to one of our agents, Summer Davy, about our office possibly doing Community Service Day on their campus,” says Branch Manager Nancy Mackleit. “We thought this would be a perfect project for the number of people we had and it was mostly outside so we were able to adhere to COVID guidelines.”
During Community Service Day, our agents and staff helped in a variety of ways, pressure washing buildings and sidewalks, cleaning windows, cleaning and replacing light fixtures/bulbs, weeding, spreading bark, picking up litter, limbing trees, and putting the branches through a wood chipper. Additionally, some agents helped clean up the pond, pulling bamboo from it and cutting it up.
Highlight of CSD
“The highlight of the day was the school staff and parents were so appreciative for the work we completed,” says Nancy. “Also, it was so nice for all of us to be together after over a year of being apart. The school campus made it possible to be outside, be socially distanced, and follow CDC guidelines. We are a big family at our office and being able to see everyone again in one place was priceless. It was like a family reunion.”
Watch our agents in action in our CSD video below!