With the help of the Belk Service Learning Challenge, middle school students are bringing positive changes in their communities. 

This new program is part of Belk, Discovery Education, and the International Society for Technology in Education's (ISTE) mission to inspire students by "applying critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity skills to a service-learning project of their choice," said a press release.

"Now in its third year, the Belk Service Learning Challenge invites students in grades six through eight who reside in one of the 16 states where Belk has a presence – including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia – to work in teams of up to four students with the support and guidance of a teacher/mentor to identify an issue in their local community and design an action plan to implement a solution," the release said.

In order to enter the challenge, student teams will submit a one- to two-minute video "describing the community issue, a summary of the team's research including who or what led to the problem and what has been done to address it, and an action plan to implement a solution and scale the project to a broader audience." The deadline to submit entries is February 27, 2015.

“Being involved in our communities has been a part of Belk’s DNA since our founding more than 125 years ago, and it remains a core value today,” said Jessica Graham, Belk’s Vice President of Communications and Community Relations. “Through the Belk Service Learning Challenge, we have the opportunity to teach students about the importance of service and giving back. Not only do the students learn about service learning, but they make a difference through their projects.”

Those interested in the Belk Service Learning Challenge or to view the free classroom resources can visit www.BelkServiceLearningChallenge.com.

Article by Kassondra Granata, EducationWorld Contributor