From packaging school supplies for Iraqi students to farming for food projects on a local family farm, Phillips Academy spread Non Sibi across campus, across town and across the world. This past Saturday, the second annual Non Sibi Day, about 1,300 members of the greater Phillips Academy community engaged in organized community service. Students, faculty, staff, family and alumni participated in 99 official projects around the globe. On their first weekend at Andover, the newest members of the Class of 2012 pulled trash out of the Spicket River. Alumni who have been part of this community for years worked with the same dedication. Elizabeth Tierney Abbot Academy Class of 1944 worked alongside students at the “Heart Walk” project. According to Jenny Savino, Associate Director of Alumni Affairs, the project leader was the oldest alum to participate in the day’s activities. Chad Green, Director of Community Service, explained, “Non Sibi Day for me is about bringing together the Andover community for a day and focusing on service in an explicit way.” The Habitat for Humanity project afforded students, alums, parents and independent volunteers an opportunity for interaction and cooperation on a larger scale during the eight-hour project. According to Alana Rush, Assistant Director of Community Service, “One of the main differences in [the] planning process was that we attempted to create more meaningful reflective activities and community bonds.” Rush explained that with the help of student and teacher project leaders, groups engaged in discussion with the intention of helping “students see their projects in a greater context.” Prior to helping install a handicap-accessible playground, the students in the “Andover Public Schools” project read an article about the impact of handicap playgrounds elsewhere. This year’s event marked another significant change from the first Non Sibi Day as students were given the opportunity to sign up for particular projects (with the exception of the Junior Class, which made up bulk of Spicket River clean up participants). This new system was implemented as a result of feedback the Community Service Office received after last year’s Non Sibi Day, said Rush. Two thirds of returning students took advantage of the opportunity to request placement in a specific project. Although the Class of 2012 was not given the opportunity to choose a project, Dean of Students Paul Murphy explained that the Spicket River Clean up was meant to serve as “an orientation extension.” Despite the changes to this year’s Non Sibi Day, questions still remain about future commemorations. “I don’t want to run the day the same way just because that is how we have been doing it,” said Chad Green, who explained that the community service office will be holding focus groups to facilitate further planning and look into changes for the future. Questions remain as to whether Non Sibi Day could be moved to a class day, whether it should be mandatory, or even if the service should span more than one day. “I think that the danger of doing a one-day service project is that the learning component gets lost in the shuffle and logistics of getting people places,” said Green. “My hope is that we created an opportunity for people to think beyond themselves.” “Building Bridges” with School Supplies The Girls Cross Country team was one of the many athletic teams that took part in their own Non Sibi Day projects. Instead of leading skill clinics like those planned for Football, Field Hockey and Soccer, the runners packaged school supplies to send to Iraqi children. Project leader Mohammad Harba, Instructor in Arabic, explained that this was a continuation of a project he had established in other locations around New England. Rulers, notebooks, pens and pencils will make their way to the children of Harba’s home town in southern Iraq via U.S. embassy staff. “This is something that will make Iraqis see a different aspect of American culture, that [Americans] are willing to help,” said Harba. “It shows that Americans are willing to build bridges.” Neighbors In Need: harvesting corn, planting community, growing change “On the books, I am the poorest man in town, and I can make difference,” said Scott Johnson, the fourth-generation owner of Johnson’s Highland View Farm, which is now the last remaining farm in the town of Windham, NH. Last year Johnson started donating some of the produce which he could not sell to Lawrence families in need. This summer he supplied 11 food pantries and fed 500 families every week through an organization called Neighbors in Need, which was founded in 1983 to provide food to those in need in the Greater Lawrence Area. Neighbors in Need is also the name of the Non Sibi Day project that brought students to harvest Johnson’s field last Saturday. Linda Zimmerman, Executive Director of Neighbors in Need, was on site during the project to educate and lead Phillips Academy students. She explained that Johnson “can’t afford to put ugly vegetables on the stand” for fear of turning away customers. Much of the corn and other vegetables he avoids picking for cosmetic reasons would sit in his fields before being turned back into the soil at the end of the growing season. Johnson “picks like nuts,” but he is unable to harvest all the edible produce said Zimmerman. “There is no way I could pick that corn,” agreed the farmer, citing the lack of time and high costs of paying for the labor. He told Neighbors In Need though that if they could pick the crops, they could have them. Since then Zimmerman has worked to organize groups to pick the corn, tomatoes, squash and apples. Johnson explained that he could seed and fertilize extra land for growing corn with minimal work and small costs. This year he began growing extra corn to donate to Neighbors in Need, sparking the need not only for more harvesters, but for more volunteers to weed. Students from Lawrence High School came in groups to weed and pick crops in late summer. “They were amazing, they worked so hard and had so much fun,” recalled Zimmerman. A group from the New Balance factory in Lawrence also helped with the project, trudging through the soggy fields in the shiny new prototype shoes they were required to wear. Before Phillips Academy students picked an additional 1,600 pounds of corn last Saturday, Johnson had already quadrupled his donation from the previous year. A tractor bed full of corn brought the total donation to more than 6,000 pounds. “There is nothing more important than feeding bellies,” Zimmerman exclaimed with her arms wrapped around 10 pieces of corn. This farm has fed a lot of bellies. She marveled, “This man is my idea of a superhero. He is not a wealthy person and has two kids to put through college. He can’t afford to be helping people, but he is.” Zimmerman noted that Johnson had found his role in the community, the thing he could do to best help others. He doesn’t have a lot of money, but he has land and a tractor, and with those things he can make a huge difference in peoples lives. After making sure everyone had a drink after two hours in the field, Johnson imparted his wisdom: “Most people think that you gotta have money or be retired to make a difference. McCain and Obama are both preaching change, but if you don’t do change, there is no change. Change starts right here.”
