As the dorms become decked with tinsel and flamboyant displays of holiday cheer, MSMS students feel the urge to give back to the community through service, which is one of the ideals that the school is built on.

On November 28, four students spent two hours lending a helping hand to Loaves and Fishes, an organization run by local churches to provide free meals for the homeless. Lunch was served to countless individuals and MSMS volunteers helped to ensure the satisfaction of every single one walking through the doors of Loaves and Fishes.

Senior Class President, Mayukh Datta, organized the volunteer possibility for the students.

“I organized Loaves and Fishes because I wanted to give both the junior and the senior class an opportunity to serve the Columbus community. There will be more opportunities like this,” Datta said.

Another influential form of service established at MSMS is Little Bookworms, which was founded by senior Jenny Nguyen.

“Little Bookworms is a service project that I started my freshman year. Its mission is to provide books to underprivileged children wherever I go. The two times I did it in Biloxi, we collected over 1,500 books and I donated them to the Boys’ & Girls’ Club, Moore Community House, as well as the children’s hospital in Mobile, Alabama. After coming to MSMS, I wanted to continue the project, and so right now we’re collecting books for children in the Golden Triangle area and we’re going to identify them like the needy children through their schools and then the books will serve as Christmas gifts this holiday season,” Nguyen said.

Students were also offered the chance to ring the bell for the Salvation Army and sing Christmas carols for a great cause on Friday, December 2.

As part of the residence life programs, it is Ms. LaToya Bledsoe who has implemented this service project for the past two years.

“What I decided to do this year was to offer two opportunities for students to go–two dates and two different locations for students to volunteer. I had five originally signed up to go, but only two went, and I want to stress the importance of commitment when you say you are going to do something–we hold our students accountable for that. The two students that went made a difference because they were out in the community representing MSMS ringing the bell at Leigh Mall.  We have one more day coming up this Friday, which is December 9. We will ring at Walmart and we have about nine or ten students signed up,” Bledsoe stated.

Do Something Club, a club very involved with the idea of service, decided to create gifts for a nursing home and the homeless for the holidays with the creative aid of club members and other willing students. They are currently in the process of making Christmas cards to spread the spirit of the holidays to those who might be lonely this season.

These small gestures by students and school clubs go a long way to show how deeply MSMS cares about this community and the impact of service.