A Jordan-Matthews High School student organization earned high recognition for its efforts in community service.
Members of the Jordan-Matthews Student-Athlete Advisory Council won a North Carolina High School Athletic Association Commissioner’s Trophy for the 2024-25 school year, per release Friday, which rewards student athlete initiatives in community outreach. The students earned the honor for their work in “Buckets of Love” project that assisted people affected by Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina.
The Commissioner’s Trophy honor, sponsored by Truist, awards an $1,000 stipend to the respective team or program that wins.
The “Buckets of Love” project aimed to help families whose homes and businesses were flooded by providing buckets to remove mud washed inside of buildings. A group of 10-12 SAAC members worked on the project.
“I think at that point in time, all the struggles and the devastation in everything in that area of the state was weighing on everybody’s mind,” Barry West, Jordan-Matthews’ athletic director and advisor to the SAAC, said. “The kids were trying to think of what’s something that we could do that would make some sort of impact in that area.”
The students used paint buckets from the school’s field preparation supply, cleaned them out and wrote encouraging messages for the recipients on them.
“It came from their heart,” West said. “’You’re awesome.’ ‘We got your back.’ Some of them put some scriptures on there.”
Jordan-Matthews student resource officer Brent Fonville and the Chatham County Sherriff’s Department made sure the 28 buckets were transported alongside the other supplies collected around the county for Hurricane Helene victims.
“It’s kind of like sometimes in teaching, we don’t get to see the end results of our work,” West said. “And that’s what the kids get here. But for them to realize that there are other people in need and there was some small something that they could do that could possibly help them in that time of need, that’s tremendous.”
Said West, “They didn’t do this for any type of recognition. They did it because they wanted to offer their love and support to those who need it, and that’s just the type of kids we have at J-M.”
The SAAC also participated in the “Meals for Thousands Project,” an act of service sponsored by Mountaire Farms in Siler City that provides meals for families in need during the holidays.
The student organization has about 50 members.
“This is our first full year with Student-Athlete Advisory Council, and the kids enjoy doing projects like this,” West said.
West said the SAAC will be sending a group of 10 members to Greensboro for the 2025 NCHSAA Student Leadership Conference on May 6.
“It’s a great opportunity for them to network with other schools, see how other schools do things and share our ideas with other schools as well,” West said.
