ISM students give back through day of service

Building bed frames, tying fleece blankets, and making houses for wood ducks are just a few of the ways some local students recently worked to serve their community.

Students across all grades at Eden Prairie’s International School of Minnesota (ISM) participated in the Student Life Organization’s (SLO) Annual Day of Service in December. The school defined service as “helping others in order to better their life, being kind and giving your time and effort to support those around you, and showing care and teamwork.”


This year, the school community helped two families who have endured recent hardships through Good in the ‘Hood’s Adopt-A-Family program. To help make the holiday season full of positive memories, ISM families fulfilled each wish list and purchased approximately 60 gifts for each family.

The event was also expanded this year to support an additional six organizations, so that as a school, ISM participated in seven acts of service throughout the day.

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One of the organizations was My Very Own Bed, which provides new beds to children of families who have recently secured stable housing. ISM students constructed 25 bed frames.

Ninth grader Roshan Batham, who helped with the builds, said it was important to her to help other children have a dedicated space to sleep and feel secure since a good night’s sleep is essential for health, development, and well-being. “By volunteering, we made a direct, positive impact on their lives and helped foster a stronger community,” Batham said.

Making tie-fleece blankets for children at Gillette Children’s Hospital was another act of service to help make hospital stays pleasant and comfortable. Elianna Agunwamba, an eighth grader, said, “Making the tie blankets was a meaningful way for me to give back to my community and help those in need. Even though my act of service was small, it made a difference in someone’s life.”

For the Nine Mile Creek Watershed District, students built six wood duck houses to be installed in the spring along ISM’s newly renovated creek shoreline. Junior student Rocky Luan said he chose this act of service because “animals need homes too.”

He added, “It was an interesting process of building up a little wood house with boards and screws. Definitely a great experience of being a craftsman, plus we will be able to watch the ducks after the houses are posted in the spring.”

Students also assembled snack packs for families at the Family Wise First Step Early Childhood Education Center, helped sort and organize items for sale at Arc’s Value Village, and hand wrote letters to people facing illness through Letters of Love.

ISM senior Kaia Frazier, the SLO deputy head of social responsibility, said, “SLO’s Day of Service allows ISM students to participate in acts of service that create positive change within our greater community. I hope that experiences like the Day of Service will inspire them to continue volunteering on their own time, after they see the difference they are able to make through acts of service.”