Call for projects to honor Rick Edwards on Day of Service Feb. 24
The Highland Lakes Crisis Network is asking for community projects for the Rick Edwards Day of Service on Feb. 24. Edwards was a HLCN board member as well as a member of the Marble Falls Independent School District Board of Trustees. He died in May 2022. File photo
The Highland Lakes Crisis Network is asking for additional project ideas for the Rick Edwards Day of Service on Feb. 24. Projects may include acts of service such as painting, yard work, cooking meals, and maintenance projects.
“It can be as small as ‘My grandma needs her yard mowed, and she can’t do it herself’ or as big as a nonprofit or organization has a wall they need painted,” said Kevin Naumann, executive director of the Highland Lakes Crisis Network.
Organized by the HLCN and Marble Falls Independent School District, the day of service honors the legacy of Rick Edwards, a member of the Marble Falls ISD Board of Trustees and the HLCN board who died in May 2022.
“(Edwards) was one of the most loving, kind, humble people I’ve ever known,” Naumann said. “He had a huge heart for kids.”
Now the school board president, Naumann was first elected in 2009 alongside Edwards.
“He was a great mentor, friend, and spiritual supporter for many years,” Naumann said. “He loved people at a genuine level.”
Students at all Marble Falls ISD campuses will participate in the day of service. Younger children will be in classrooms making cards, writing letters, drawing pictures, and assembling care packages. Middle and high school students will serve outside of their campuses at local nonprofits, parks, businesses, and elsewhere.
“There’s this whole aspect of taking care of human beings because they’re human beings,” Naumann said. “I hope that resonates with the kids. It would be cool to see them want to do this kind of thing more often.”
Others are also invited to participate and volunteer during the day of service.
“I would like the event to be big enough where the whole town shuts down for people to serve each other,” Naumann said. “I think that’s what sets us apart as a community.”
While no concrete plans exist to make the Rick Edwards Day of Service an annual event, Naumann isn’t opposed to the idea.
“I think we’ll see how it goes,” he said. “I would love to see it turn into a perpetual thing if people are bought into it and engaged with it.”
Interested volunteers may fill out a form on the Highland Lakes Crisis Network website.
Submissions for community projects may be made by completing a separate online form on the HLCN website.