Up on the hillside at Coastal Roots Farm in Encinitas, a group of students from The Grauer School spent Tuesday morning tending to the lush gardens and fertile land.
“We're here mulching and weeding roots, but we're really here to give back to the community,” said ninth grader Zane Zanetti.
He and his classmates leveled the ground and weeded the vegetation to help the nonprofit prepare for a large event early next month.
The volunteer effort was part of the private school’s first annual Martin Luther King Day of Service.
“We're going to go back and reflect on the day and how our experience was, and reflect on Martin Luther King and stuff like that,” Zanetti said.
The Grauer School canceled classes for the day so its 160 students could spend part of the day doing community service work across the county.
“I have students baking bread with Jewish Family Services. I have students singing music and working with preschoolers all over North County. I have students serving the unhoused at the Third Avenue Charitable Organization downtown in San Diego, building and making hygiene kits,” said Dana Abplanalp-Diggs, who leads the school.
Students picked from a list of 16 nonprofits where they could volunteer for their day of service, Abplanalp-Diggs said.
“Dr. King taught us the value of love, the value of service to our community, and that everybody can be great if you serve others and can give back,” she said.
The seventh through 12th-grade students ended the day of service back on campus, preparing lasagnas for nonprofit Lasagna Love, and reflecting on what they learned.
