This fall, all star athletes were challenged to reach out in their communities and go the extra mile to spread kindness. For the second year in a row,  athletes were invited to participate in the USASF Season of Service by implementing a give-back project between October 1st and November 15th.

Jayeleigh Drake from PA Starz is making a difference in her community by giving back to the hard-working frontline workers for her USASF Season Of Service give-back project.

"I wanted to participate in the USASF Season of Service because serving the community makes me feel so good, and I wanted to help the people in the community, especially the people who have been working so hard to serve during the pandemic."

Jayeleigh Drake is a sophomore cheerleader at Chambersburg Area Senior High School and she is in her 8th season of all star cheer at Pa Starz. She is passionate about community service and this is her second year implementing a give-back project with the USASF.

"Community service is important to me because my parents have taught me to be a servant, and be thoughtful towards other people," Drake explained. "I have learned to be a servant leader, and I feel that God has called me to get involved in the community. Serving the community makes me smile because I know that my hard work will make someone smile, and let them know that there is someone who cares about them."

This year, Jayeleigh's Season of Service project is centered on blessing the frontline workers who have been tirelessly working the past year and a half to serve their communities regardless of the other circumstances that have been happening in their own personal lives.

Jayeleigh came up with the idea for her give-back project after PA Starz had established that their showcase theme this year would be about giving back to the healthcare workers in their area, as many of the parents within the PA Starz organization had been serving on the frontlines during the pandemic.

With the help of her coach, Hannah Brewer, Jayeleigh put her project into action. She began collecting items like gift cards, candy, soda, snacks, and hand sanitizer from the athletes at the gym to make baskets to distribute to healthcare workers, teachers, fire departments, military service members, grocery store workers, and employees of the mail service.

Jayeleigh went above and beyond with her project as she organized themed practices to involve all the athletes at PA Starz in her give-back project.

For their “Dress as your Hero" themed practice, each of the PA Starz teams dressed up as a different category of workers. They had 100% participation through all of the athletes as they celebrated the hard-working members in their community!

"This project is so important to me because it is a great opportunity to grow in my leadership journey and bring my organization together to work towards a common goal," shared Drake. "This project means so much to me because it makes me feel so connected to my community."

"I hope to make the heroes in our community feel good about how hard they have been working. I want them to know how much the community appreciates all that they are doing because they should know that someone is thinking of them, even while they may be feeling burnout and forgotten."

Jayeleigh encourages others to participate in her give-back project by simply thanking the workers that have been working very hard throughout all the different circumstances they have encountered in the past year.