First Lady Maria Lee Invites Students to Join 8th Annual Tennessee Kids Serve Summer Challenge

First Lady Maria Lee announced the eighth annual Tennessee Kids Serve Summer Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to instill in kids a heart for service by asking them to join the First Lady in devoting a small portion of their summer break to serving others.

The challenge is open to rising kindergarteners through rising sixth graders from June 1 to August 1 as part of the First Lady’s Tennessee Serves initiative.

“Over the past eight years, we have been astounded to see the creative and inspiring ways kids choose to use their talents and passions to serve their neighbors,” said First Lady Maria Lee. “Students’ remarkable acts of kindness are creating ripple effects that follow them all their lives and ultimately make Tennessee a better place.”

To complete the challenge, participants must complete a service activity from at least two of the eight service categories provided and a minimum of two service hours to complete the challenge. Top challenge participants will be invited to join the Governor and First Lady for a carnival at the Tennessee Residence in September.

More than 3,500 kids have participated in the summer challenge since 2019, serving 15,291 collective hours in Tennessee communities.

Throughout the last eight years, Tennessee kids have participated in a wide variety of service activities ranging from picking up trash at state parks, assisting at soup kitchens, delivering flowers to nursing homes, placing flowers at veteran cemeteries, and holding lemonade stands to raise funds for disaster relief.

Registration for the challenge opens today. Parents and guardians can register their child and find additional information about the challenge on the First Lady’s website.