GPS Community and Families Unite for 9/11 Day of Service
GPS Community and Families Unite for 9/11 Day of Service
Gilbert Public Schools
Gilbert Public Schools students, families, and community volunteers came together on September 12 to participate in campus beautification and service projects in honor of 9/11. With many GPS campuses partnering with organizations like JustServe, volunteers at schools across the district dedicated their morning to service projects designed to improve outdoor learning spaces and support campus grounds.
At Oak Tree Elementary, parent-volunteer Trinity Dosemagen led efforts to revitalize the campus garden into a thriving educational space for students. Dosemagen, who studied sustainability in college and has a fourth-grade student at Oak Tree, worked with campus leadership to ensure the garden became an active, year-round resource where students can learn about soil health, pollinators, and food production.
"Just being part of something bigger is so important," Dosemagen said. "You feel good when you are giving back. I feel like a garden is a space where you don't even have to come and talk to someone. You can just come hang out with the plants and walk away knowing it was worth it."
For many schools across GPS, a campus garden serves as a practical space for outdoor learning, supporting before- and after-school clubs for students, and providing fresh produce to local families and community distribution pantries. Maintaining these spaces relies on volunteers and community participation to ensure equipment works properly, crops are prepped for each season, and students have a functional space for hands-on learning.
Parent-volunteer Lisa Shumway, who has sent three children through Oak Tree Elementary, worked alongside Trinity Dosemagen to support the campus garden initiative. "I think it really helps build a community when people come and join their schools. This is fun because people are meeting people that they may not have met before and getting to know people in their neighborhoods," added Shumway.
Oak Tree Elementary was one of multiple GPS campuses where community members volunteered to make an impact. At Mesquite Elementary, families gathered for a garden cleanup and campus improvement event organized alongside JustServe.
The event demonstrated how community can make a big difference with small acts of service. The Smith Family helped lead the event coordination for JustServe while working on-site with their two daughters who attend the school. Mesquite Elementary building manager William Erickson brought his son Luka to assist with heavy campus maintenance.
The Rogers Family brought their son, a Mesquite alumnus who is now a seventh grader at Greenfield Junior High, back to his former elementary campus to serve. Meanwhile, the Taylor Family brought their students, who currently attend Finley Farms Elementary, Highland Junior High, and Highland High School, to volunteer.
Ashleymarie Fortune, the GPS Parent University Coordinator, also helped plan the project needs alongside her husband and two daughters who attend Mesquite Elementary.
“9/11 Day of Service is a reminder that some of the most meaningful ways we can honor the past are by coming together to care for the communities we are part of,” shared Fortune.
“As a parent, I love being able to serve alongside my children and help them understand that caring for their school and community is something we all have a role in. School gardens make that lesson especially tangible. When children help plant, grow, and care for something, they’re learning patience, responsibility, perseverance, and how small acts of care can lead to something that benefits others. Those are skills and lessons they can carry with them long after they leave elementary school.”
Many GPS campuses dedicated time for service and remembrance on Friday, September 11, and on Saturday, September 12, including hosting first responder assemblies, patriotic musical performances, student history projects, and campus painting and cleanup initiatives.
Many GPS campuses dedicated time for events on September 11 and 12 to bring together students, families, and community partners for a wide variety of activities. From assemblies and musical tributes honoring first responders to community partnerships for service days and campus beautification projects, GPS campuses dedicated the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001, to strengthen local connections.
Whether returning as alumni, volunteering as current parents, or bringing family members together across grade levels, community members play a direct role in taking care of local campuses. These collective efforts demonstrate how small, everyday actions by local families create a lasting positive impact across Gilbert Public Schools.
Contact your neighborhood school to see how you can volunteer on GPS campuses. Visit GilbertSchools.net for more information about volunteering at GPS:
Oak Tree Elementary's school garden.
Oak Tree Elementary students, families, and community members preparing garden soil.
Mesquite Elementary community comes together for a day of service to honor 9/11.
Mesquite Elementary students, parents, and community members place plants in the school's garden.
Mesquite Elementary students tend to the school's garden.
Desert Ridge High students and families work together on thank-you cards for local police officers.
Desert Ridge High students and families prepare snack bags for local children in need.
Desert Ridge High students, families, and community members come together for the school's 3rd Annual 9/11 Day of Service.