CAC Hosts ACCESS Gators & Day of Service

CAC’s secondary campus is gearing up for two big events this Friday – the ACCESS Gators track meet and second annual Day of Service.

Mustang Missions began the ACCESS Gators track meet nearly five years ago, and it is now one of Mustang Mountain’s most anticipated events. Each spring, CAC students swap out their purple and gold for purple and green to host and cheer on students from the ACCESS schools as they compete in track competitions and prepare for the Special Olympics. In the past, students have returned to class after the Gators’ departure. Last year, however, CAC discovered a new way to channel the students’ momentum into another great service opportunity.

“Last year was our first Day of Service, and if you ask our students, many of them will say it was their favorite day of the year,” said secondary principal Jordan Collier. “By combining the ACCESS event and our service projects, students had a great time being together and serving others.” Collier said the goal of the Day of Service is to expose students to various organizations in Little Rock and allow them to make connections for future service work. An added benefit of the Day of Service, he said, is the community building that happens as students and faculty team up to help others.

Last year, students participated in projects ranging from repairing bikes to painting bed frames, and even more activities have been added to the mix this time around. Ninth through 12th grade students will help with projects at nine Little Rock organizations including Recycle Bikes for Kids, The One, The Arkansas Dream Center, Little Rock Parks and Recreation and Oak Grove Life Center. New connections for CAC will be Partners Against Trafficking Humans (PATH), River City Ministry, Curran Hall and Habitat for Humanity. While ninth through 12th grade students are off campus, seventh and eighth graders will remain at the school to host students from Boone Park Elementary for a field day comprised of games, races and sweet treats.

Sign-ups for groups are underway outside the office at the secondary campus. Secondary parents can be on the lookout for more information including a schedule, permission slip and dress code criteria.