PHOTOS: Rick Edwards Day of Service 2025
Marble Falls students and other volunteers fanned out across the city Feb. 14 to complete community projects as part of Rick Edwards Day of Service. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
Marble Falls students spread across town Feb. 14 to perform labors of love on the third annual Rick Edwards Day of Service. The annual event honors the memory of the late Rick Edwards, a businessman and longtime school district board trustee who left a lasting impact on the community with his dedication to service and support of young people.
Edwards died in 2022 from a brain hemorrhage.
“He was an awesome guy inside and out,” said Austin Fletcher, a colleague of Edwards who volunteered to paint transitional housing with the Highland Lakes Crisis Network on the day of service. “He taught us so many good life lessons. It’s not just about work; it’s about family and Christ. (Rick Edwards Day of Service is) a perfect way to honor him because he was the greatest server that I ever met. He just loved to serve others.”
Kaitlin Puckett, a social worker with the Marble Falls Independent School District volunteered alongside a group of students at St. Frederick Baptist Church on Feb. 14. She helped organize the first Rick Edwards Day of Service in 2023. Anyone in the community can submit projects for the volunteer students to complete.
“I think the biggest change we’ve seen is the community’s openness to having our students come out and serve them,” she said. “At first, I think there is always a little bit of trepidation to having high school kids come out and do work that they need done, but I think the community now sees the value in that and I think our students see that value in it as well.”
Bessie Jackson, a St. Frederick Baptist Church congregrant and organizer of the church’s Mission Outreach community kitchen, was grateful for the students’ help landscaping around the church’s new Black History Museum, which will hold its grand opening Saturday, Feb. 22. The museum is next door to St. Frederick’s, 301 Avenue N.
“Many hands make light work,” she said. “We don’t have a lot of people to take care of it nor do we have the money to pay for landscaping. (The kids) are here fixing all of that stuff up, and it’s going to look really nice … when we have the grand opening.”
Jackson said she knew Edwards well, having watched him grow up and serve his community, even working the hot food line for Mission Outreach.
“I think he would be pleased to see that these kids are a part of this,” she said.
PHOTO GALLERY
Hundreds of students did thousands of hours of combined work on Friday, including picking up litter at city parks, landscaping around the Black History Museum, helping local homeowners with yard work, and spending time with the elderly. Staff and MFISD photos
