By: Gabe Woods 

The Sugar Maple festival will be held in downtown Bellbrook from April 24-26. The annual festival involves a parade, many small shops and food trucks, live music, and many more activities. 

Every year, the Bel-High Chapter of National Honor Society has each member complete a service opportunity at the festival. Every member is required to complete at least 75 hours of service, with one mandatory NHS sponsored event per quarter. 

“I just think it’s really important for the high school students to be connected to the community,” NHS advisor Tess Rivero said. “It’s good for them to learn the importance of being connected.”

Starting before the festival on Thursday night, the students have a wide variety of events they could earn their service hours at. From tree packing, to handing out flyers, to an annual pancake breakfast, the students have an array of options to choose from. 

“I did the pancake breakfast last year and I’m doing it again this year,” senior NHS secretary Cate Eberly said. “It’s a really fun event that doesn’t even feel like volunteering.”

The Marketing and Communications will be passing out flyers as their volunteer opportunities. The flyers advertise their upcoming Bellbrook Film Festival, having members of the community create short movies about the heart of Bellbrook. 

Last year saw many students volunteering on Thursday night and Friday, due to that Saturday also being the day of Prom. This year, and most other years in the past, have Saturday packed with volunteering, with events happening in Bellbrock Park throughout the day. Members are able to volunteer directly through NHS, or are able to sign up through the parks district. 

“There are a lot of opportunities both through NHS and the parks district,” Eberly said. “As officers, we make sure to have as many opportunities for everyone as possible.”