5 minute read
One for All, All in Blazers
High school program builds leadership skills for student-athletes through community volunteering.
Article by Ian Brannan
Photography courtesy Tyler Cordts
The All in Blazers program at Gardner Edgerton High School helps student-athletes develop leadership skills as they connect with the community through volunteering.
Assistant principal and athletic director Jason Radel first envisioned the program about six years ago and implemented it two years later. His goal was to help the community, which consistently supports the school. Community members and organizations can request assistance from the student volunteers, and the volunteers can fulfill those needs individually or in groups.
Radel says there was a time when the school received less-than-favorable publicity in the news, which he said did not reflect the caliber of the students.
“I wanted to do something more, so a couple years ago, Mr. (Frank) Bell, our principal, started some action groups, and I asked him if we could make one of those,” Radel says.
He received approval, and the All in Blazers program took off from there. The community service–based program leads students to find ways to help and participate in their community.
Lending a Hand
Radel says students have helped at the elementary schools by playing games with the younger children, reading to them, and helping them with homework. Other students have helped at the high school on their days off, worked a carnival at the elementary school, and volunteered with Harvester’s, among other projects.
Almost from its inception, All in Blazers has focused on Harvester’s. Divine Mercy Parish and Kiwanis Club sponsor the Saturday distributions, and Divine Mercy Parish also sponsors the Wednesday distributions.
As cars drive through a line at TradeNet, students help load the cars with food. Radel says the All in Blazers program has made helping load food a regular volunteer event, and students work every third Saturday of the month.
“The kids love it, and it’s such a cool thing to do for people in the community. They come from all over,” Radel says. “They come from Olathe. They come from Kansas City. They come from everywhere.”
Senior football player Kaleb Dewey, 17, says his favorite thing to help out with is Oktoberfest. It is a fundraiser for a dog shelter with a CrossFit-like premise, where the students referee events.
Dewey first participated in the program his freshman year. He learned about it from his older brother, who was a senior when it started.
Dewey says it was a great way to help athletes connect with the community and that he has found joy in helping others.
“I really like being able to help out in the community and hang out with my friends. It doesn’t feel like a job,” Dewey says. “It just feels like being with your buddies while helping out in the community.”
Future Leaders
Radel says he wanted the program to also aid in developing leadership skills for students.
“We have regular meetings during (the students’) seminar period at school where we’ll bring in coaches and kids who have graduated from Gardner. … We really wanted it to be a leadership development and community service type program,” he says.
Radel says one of the more difficult aspects of the program is availability. Students are often involved in multiple sports, which take up a lot of time.
“People reach out to us and say, ‘Hey, do you have kids who can help with this?’ and we just figure it out,” he says.
There is no requirement for how many hours each student puts in.
“We really want kids to do it because they want to do it,” Radel says. “We don’t want to force them to do anything. We want them to build that intrinsic motivation to do things for the people who do things for them.” One student, Radel says, began regularly mowing the lawn for an older woman when she couldn’t do it herself.
While student-athletes can volunteer individually, there are also opportunities for entire teams to work together to help the community.
“Our boys basketball team and both of our boys and girls soccer teams have been involved with Harvester’s, for instance,” Radel says. “They’ve gone as a team and done Harvester’s on a Saturday all together.”
In addition to volunteering with the community, he says the students have raised money for scholarships over the past two years.
“Outgoing seniors—we’ve given four scholarships, $500 apiece, for the last two years,” he says.
With the new school year, Radel is looking forward to student involvement in the community through the All in Blazers program and watching students develop their leadership skills while having fun helping others.
For more information about All in Blazers
Contact Tyler Cordts, teacher and coach at Gardner Edgerton High School
email: cordtst@usd231.com
phone: 913-856-2745
usd231.com/o/gardner-edgerton-hs
