NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Gov. Bill Lee and First Lady Maria Lee hosted a carnival at the Tennessee Residence Saturday for more than 100 families from across the state to honor their completion of the Tennessee Kids Serve Summer Challenge.
“Bill and I were excited to celebrate another meaningful and impactful Tennessee Kids Serve Summer Challenge with students at the Tennessee Kids Serve Carnival,” the first lady said. “We were encouraged to learn firsthand how kids served in their communities this summer, but even more so, we were touched to hear the positive impact the challenge had on each participating family.”
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According to officials, the governor and first lady met with summer challenge participants, as well as their families, to congratulate each child on their summer of service and encourage them to continue serving others. In addition to remarks from the Lees, the event featured carnival games, prizes, snacks, and special appearances from local sports team mascots.
The first lady’s office said this year marked the seventh annual Tennessee Kids Serve Summer Challenge, which invites rising kindergarten through sixth grade students across the Volunteer State to devote part of their summer to serving others. In order to complete the challenge, the children needed to perform a service activity in at least two of the eight provided categories and serve a minimum of two hours.
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Officials said more than 700 students participated in the challenge, serving a record-breaking number of 3,654 hours across 57 counties through a variety of activities, including:
- Cleaning public parks
- Delivering flowers to local nursing homes
- Taking baked goods and letters of appreciation to first responders
- Hosting lemonade stands to raise funds for disaster relief
- Placing flags and flowers at Veterans cemeteries
- Donating books to little free library
- Volunteering at local food pantry
- Making and passing out blessing bags to homeless individuals
Since 2019, a total of 4,561 Tennessee students have reportedly served a combined 15,291 hours in communities across the state through the summer challenge, which is part of the first lady’s Tennessee Serves initiative…