Students Serve More than 3,000 Hours through First Lady Maria Lee’s Sixth Annual Tennessee Kids Serve Summer Challenge

Students Serve More than 3,000 Hours through First Lady Maria Lee’s Sixth Annual Tennessee Kids Serve Summer Challenge

More than 800 kids served their community during the summer challenge.
Tuesday, August 20, 2024 | 10:57am

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Today, Tennessee First Lady Maria Lee announced that 195 students completed the sixth

annual Tennessee Kids Serve Summer Challenge. The participants served a total of 3,363 hours in 43 counties.

“Every summer, we are inspired to see the ways students use their God-given talents to serve their community, and this summer’s challenge has been equally encouraging,” said First Lady Maria Lee. “It is my hope that kids across our state have learned the importance of serving others and were able to see the long-lasting impacts their service has made on their neighbors.” 

To complete the challenge, rising kindergarten through sixth grade students completed a service activity in at least two of the eight provided categories and served a minimum of two hours.

This summer, Tennessee kids creatively served their communities in a wide variety of ways including:

  • Giving baked goods and thank you notes to first responders
  • Playing bingo with the elderly at nursing homes 
  • Passing out quarters at local laundromats
  • Placing flowers and flags on graves at the veteran’s cemetery
  • Hosting local park clean-up days
  • Raising money for nonprofit through lemonade stands
  • Giving out free bus passes at the city bus terminal
  • Holding neighborhood food drives 

More than 3,000 kids have participated in the summer challenge since 2019, serving 11,147 collective hours in communities across Tennessee.

The Tennessee Kids Serve Summer Challenge is part of First Lady Lee’s efforts to encourage volunteerism throughout the state through her initiative Tennessee Serves.

Find more ways kids can serve their neighbors on the First Lady’s website.

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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.tn.gov/firstlady/newsroom/2024/8/20/students-serve-more-than-3-000-hours-through-first-lady-maria-lee-s-sixth-annual-tennessee-kids-serve-summer-challenge-.html