Last school year, the Mighty Toiler Battalion JROTC program completed their annual service learning project. Many cadets were able to complete their service learning requirement to meet LAUSD graduation requirements. Last year, the project was to collect and recycle bottles and cans and donate the proceeds to local and community organizations. The Los Angeles Food Bank and Wounded Warrior Project were the recipients of our donation. Our goal was to raise two-thousand dollars in total and donate one-thousand dollars to each organization.

Service learning is a method of teaching that combines classroom lessons and meaningful community service to enhance the learning experience. The process consists of orientation, training, meaningful service, and structured reflection. The orientation and training part consists of developing activities to prepare the participants for the experience, and plan steps and procedures needed before starting the activity. Meaningful service is an activity that is interesting, challenging, connects the students participating to their teams and school, and has positive effects on them, others and their community. In this project, participating cadets were from seven JROTC companies. The program was monitored closely by the Senior Army Instructor, CW4 Dayton. Throughout various time periods, cadets brought in recyclable items and used a log to record the amounts and keep track of recyclable items.

This project helped cadets participate in an activity that truly showed how discarded waste affects our environment and community, and showed how to keep it clean. This activity was intended to have cadets build skills and gain knowledge by participating in a meaningful activity. Some cadets quoted, “It was a good experience helping the ones in need. I felt like I truly made a difference in my community. It felt really good,” and, “This project was an amazing experience. We were giving back to the community in a big way. Not only are you helping yourself in dealing with ecology in a positive way but you are helping others with special needs.”Another benefit to this project was to donate to two important organizations, who greatly help our communities. L.A Food Bank, which helps feel the homeless, and Wounded Warrior Project, which supports the veterans who were wounded in the service of our country.

Participating Cadets with representatives from both organizations and Mr. Macias, principal.

Participating Cadets with representatives from both organizations, the battalion BC and XO, and the school’s principal, Mr. Macias.