Oak Park and River Forest High School’s second Service Learning Fair took place on Friday, Feb. 16. The event aimed to inspire students to engage in community service, especially civics students working to gain the required five hours for their service projects.

The Service Learning Fair was conceived by history teachers Matthew Maloney and Steven Schwartz, alongside Pre-Vocational Education Coordinator Brian Dubina.  

In the past, some students found it hard to find service opportunities, according to Maloney. “It was inequitable. Students without knowledge of ways to get involved in their community and, at times, left certain students at a disadvantage for their service-learning project,” he said.

To combat this issue, Maloney, Schwartz and Dubina created the fair and selected a group of panelists to speak about civic engagement. 

The first Service Learning Fair took place on Aug. 23. The Feb. 16 event began in OPRF’s South Cafeteria, where students could visit tables staffed by representatives from various organizations that provide volunteer opportunities.

“So many students have no idea that the Oak Park and River Forest community has so many opportunities to get involved…it’s truly a privilege to live in an area that has so many passionate individuals that are working to improve conditions for our residents and beyond,” Maloney said.

Representatives from organizations such as Oak Leyden, the Oak Park Education Foundation and Housing Forward gave presentations encouraging students to volunteer.

In addition to helping fulfill the service learning requirement, all hours of community service can be logged to contribute to OPRF’s Sesquicentennial Challenge. This challenge asks students, staff and community members to log 150,000 hours of service to celebrate 150 since the school’s establishment.

Along with the fair held in the south cafeteria, local leaders were invited to participate in a panel discussion in OPRF’s Little Theater.

Panelists invited were Ravi Parakkat, the founder of Takeout 25, Cate Readling, a community activist, Kina Collins, a candidate running for Illinois’ 7th Congressional District, and State Rep. Camille Lilly of Illinois’ 78th District. 

The panelists spoke about pressing issues they cared about, their motives for civic participation and examples of their own community involvement.

Parakkat pushed for students to get involved, saying, “You should want to pitch into the community where you spend a disproportionate amount of time.” 

This experience allowed students to connect with various organizations and leaders in the community. Lilly said she hopes everyone who attended left knowing that, “You make the difference in your city, in your state and in your country.”