It’s time for an English lesson. A few minutes of your time is all that’s required. The headline inspires images of reverence and a collective body with an objective, does it not? Now, expand your minds to another definition of service: “the work performed by one that serves”.Hill City Elementary School not only gathered in service but performed in service for the love of their community before taking time off to celebrate Thanksgiving holidays this week. Nearly 1000 meals were provided for needy Pickens County families before they sat down to their own feast.

Thursday was the day allotted for the first part of their dream come to fruition. That day, after weeks of collections, Thanksgiving meals were assembled and distributed. Eight-hundred sixty boxes of food were given to families/persons who have difficulty shouldering the financial burden of a big meal. Numerous volunteers including the Boy Scouts and school officials handled the big job while yet others took it upon themselves to deliver the commodities to 80 more who were unable to travel to the school to pick-up their meals.

The meals consisted of enough food to make four side items, desserts, stuffing and cranberry sauce for a family of six. Included were gift cards to cover the cost of turkeys from Kroger.

All the hard work culminated in the satisfaction of deeds well-done but didn’t end there. The reward for the effort was Friday when the school held their own Thanksgiving dinner inviting students’ families to partake in their celebratory meal. Throngs of children and adults lined the halls waiting for their turns to break bread together…to the tune of around 1200 visitors total.

As part of the festivities, parents were asked to participate in the SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) survey to help the school understand it’s achievements and downfalls for improvement. As an encouragement for assisting, the school gave away prizes including Kroger gift cards, turkeys and fleece apparel.

A special thank-you goes out to the school’s “Safety Patrol,” a group of fifth graders who help keep order in the school by being monitors. This day, they helped pass out meals and cleared and cleaned tables after each grade completed theirs.

Not to be forgotten are those in the community who tirelessly worked to make the celebration possible. The Jasper United Methodist Women’s Club gave cash donations while food was collected by the school, Jasper Drugs and Burnt Mountain Center (including Chart Industries and VSR Industries).