Students at Allen High School rolled up their sleeves and got to work Friday participating in service projects that give back to the community.
Students chose from among 30 community projects for 'Eagle Give Day.'
Some made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, others were weaving plastic grocery bags to make mattresses for the homeless.
"We dedicate a whole school day just toward giving back to our community and really demonstrating our prosperity as a community and showing that the students have the power to start changing their community within their school and they can help people around them," said senior Isabella Berry.
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About 3,400 students signed up to spend about 45 minutes involved in projects led by 280 students already involved in service projects.
"It might be their very first service project, that they get to experience the joy of serving others today for the very first time," said teacher Jennifer Clements. "I hope the 'ah ha' moment is that you don't have to be rich or famous to serve that you can serve and show kindness in very simple ways."
This is the fourth year of the school's service learning project encouraging young leaders to do for others.
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"It does show that we're not all about sitting at home playing video games, but we are about giving back to the community," said junior Isaiah Fields.
More than 5,200 sandwiches are heading to a food pantry in Sachse and a homeless recovery center in Dallas.
The students also made holiday greeting cards for our military and filled 500 backpacks with toiletries and snacks for those at Streetside Showers in McKinney.
