Community service is an integral part of the Bloomfield Hills High School Student Leadership and Lead 9 classes. The student leaders are required as part of their coursework to collaborate on one community service project per quarter.

Alexa Kessler (grade 12) is part of Student Leadership class and helped organize the most recent service project. “From my perspective, through community service projects, student leaders learn about their ability to give back and have a genuine impact on the lives of people in the community and beyond. We get to recognize our privilege in a school district with so many resources and use those resources for good. We are given a voice and time to go out into the community and be leaders for a reason, so I love that we focus on how we can improve the lives of people outside of our high school.”

For the first quarter, the classes worked together to compile more than 200 “Boo Bags,” which they delivered to The Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit and Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor. They filled the festive, pumpkin-shaped bags with a box of crayons, Halloween coloring books, Play-Doh, a Halloween-themed pop-it, a sheet of spooky stickers, a beaded necklace, and a personalized note written to each child by a member of Student Leadership. 

The senior student leadership class is in charge of planning the community service project for the second quarter, and will most likely be wrapping gifts for kids with the Bottomless Toy Chest.  

“I love that these projects are student-driven because we are able to choose causes that we are truly passionate about and that matter to us,” emphasized Kessler. “Each year, we try to impact a wide variety of communities that focus on widespread topics. I love to learn about ways I can help out, and do something that will make someone smile. For example, when we were creating the Halloween gift bags for the children in the hospitals, we all added personalized letters. We didn't focus on what was preventing them from being outside for Hallloween, but rather the light that they bring to the world and how strong they are. It's so nice to do something that will make someone else's life a little bit better.”