Ceili Leahy Day of Service
What will your legacy be?
The Ceili Leahy Senior Day of Service for JM’s Class of 2025 is being planned for Spring 2025.
Where is the Ceili Leahy Service Project (CLSP) going with the Day of Service?
The CLSP helps keep Ceili’s legacy alive by organizing and supporting Day of Service events at James Monroe High School (JM) in Fredericksburg, VA, and inspiring high school students to volunteer. Ceili showed us how to lead a life dedicated to service for others, inspiring all who knew her to try to follow her example. Although Ceili is no longer with us physically, we are honored to continue her legacy of service and give back to her Fredericksburg community.
Since the fall of 2016 through the fall of 2022, JM students volunteered for 10 Ceili Leahy Day of Service events. For many JM students, the Day of Service has been the spark to volunteerism, and the event has become an opportunity to continue doing great things in their community.
In December of 2022, the CLSP began a new partnership with JM. The Career and Technical Education (CTE) Coordinator asked if CLSP could help organize a Day of Service event for JM’s Senior Class in the spring of 2023. The organizing team included the CLSP, the Fredericksburg City Public Schools’ CTE Coordinator, the Communications Coordinator, the Director of Family & Community Engagement and Special Initiatives, JM’s English Department, and JM’s Day of Service Student Planning Committee. This event became the Ceili Leahy Senior Day of Service. It was geared toward service learning, and helped many seniors meet a state graduation requirement. The first Senior Day of Service was held on April 20, 2023, for JM’s Class of 2023, and the second Senior Day of Service was held on April 12, 2024, for JM’s Class of 2024. Both events were huge successes! And we’re now gearing up for the third Ceili Leahy Senior Day of Service for JM’s Class of 2025.
Ceili is the CLSP’s North Star giving us the WHY for organizing ten Ceili Leahy Day of Service events. And she continues to be WHY for JM’s new Ceili Leahy Senior Day of Service tradition. Ceili’s legacy of activism, generosity, service, and love for community continue to inspire action and service.
“As terrible as cancer is, it really opened my eyes to the goodness in people. It was just the most beautiful thing to see what people can do for each other when they’re inspired.”
-Ceili Leahy, JM Class of 2014
Day of Service
Each year we work with James Monroe High School to support Day of Service events. We help inspire, recruit and send volunteers to local nonprofit organizations that share Ceili’s values and purpose. For many, the Ceili Leahy Day of Service is the ‘spark’ to volunteerism, and for others it is another opportunity to do great things in their community.
Day of Service Inspirational Speakers
For each Day of Service, it has been a tradition to invite inspirational speakers to say a few words once all the volunteers have arrived at the meeting place and are preparing to serve. Through their spoken words the inspirational speakers reaffirm WHY the volunteers are participating in this event, give them the motivation to do their best, and launch the volunteers out to the various service projects that morning.
Our local News Director and Radio host, Ted Schubel, created a video of the 2022 Ceili Leahy Day of Service inspirational speakers. While each speaker brought their own messaging to the volunteers, it was a beautiful coincidence that each talked about the importance of showing up.
In the fall of 2022 Ted created a video of inspirational speakers over the years — here is the link to the video clip titled, “The Ceili Leahy Day of Service is this Saturday in Fredericksburg: It’s all about giving back.” https://youtu.be/F81A9mxC3-M.
Ms. Tammy Clark, Health/Physical Education Teacher, Certified Athletic Trainer, and Giving Tree Coordinator at JM, was the 2021 Ceili Leahy Day of Service inspirational speaker. Listen to her speech at the following link: https://youtu.be/Bx08ymKM1Q8. We are so thankful Ms. Clark could help inspire and motivate our volunteers to make a difference in the community on 9/11.
Whom we serve
We serve nonprofit organizations whose missions are consistent with Ceili’s values and passions.
Organizations our volunteers have served so far include:
- Loisann’s Hope House
- Mary Washington Healthcare Grief Support Services
- Friends of the Rappahannock
- Fairy Godmother Project
- Fredericksburg City Public Schools (Fredericksburg, VA)
- Downtown Greens
- Tree Fredericksburg
- Greater Fredericksburg Habitat for Humanity
- Joint service project with Fredericksburg Parks, Recreation and Events & the R-Board
- Brisben Center
- Rappahannock Area Community Services Board
- Washington Heritage Museums
If you know of a Fredericksburg nonprofit organization that could use volunteer support, let us know by sending an email to TheCLServiceProject@gmail.
Ceili Leahy Day of Service sponsors
Thank you to all the sponsors, present and past for supporting Ceili Leahy Day of Service and Ceili Leahy Senior Day of Service events.
Suzy Stone Lando Massey Real Estate
J. Brian’s Tap Room
White Oak Animal Hospital
Fredericksburg Ballet Centre
Blackhawk Homes, LLC
Rappahannock Development Group
Coleman Motor Company, Inc.
Bartlett Tree Experts
Meadows Farms
Arbor Care: Complete Tree Service, LLC
Sally Harman FIELD Design, LLC
Black Knight Technology, Inc.
Scott Badami
Mike and Stephanie Till
Greg Allison, Johnson Commercial Real Estate, Real Estate Appraiser
University of Mary Washington College of Education
G-H20 (Sandy & Mike Gillenwater)
Gemini 3 Group
Fredericksburg Education Foundation
Hillcrest United Methodist Church
Susan Garnett Spears Leadership Coach
Mary Washington Healthcare
Donations from sponsors cover the cost of supplies for service projects, refreshments for volunteers, and “Ceili Leahy Day of Service” tee shirts for volunteers—a visible reminder of Ceili’s passion for volunteerism and our commitment to community service.
To become a sponsor for a future Day of Service event or learn more about sponsorship, please email TheCLServiceProject@gmail.com or call Leslie Leahy (President) at (540)645-8512.
