Students from the SkillsUSA chapter at Warren High School turned Friday night football into a powerful community service and workplace learning project during the 2025 season.
Partnering with the Warren Lumberjack Band Parents Association, 24 active WHS SkillsUSA members volunteered to operate the concession stand at every home game for the Warren Lumberjacks. Students worked before, during, and after games, preparing food, serving customers, handling transactions, restocking supplies, and cleaning the facility.
By the end of the season, WHS SkillsUSA members had contributed 356 of nearly 800 total community service hours worked in the concession stand.
What began as helping where there was a need quickly became a student-led community service initiative aligned to the SkillsUSA Framework element Technical Skills Grounded in Academics and the Essential Element of Service Orientation.
Students gained real-world experience in:
Food safety and sanitation
Customer service
Teamwork and communication
Time management and responsibility
Problem-solving in a fast-paced environment
Many community members were unaware that the students working the concession stand were not paid employees, but volunteers choosing to serve their school while developing career-ready skills.
“This project gave our students a true workplace experience while allowing them to give back to our school,” said SkillsUSA Advisor Jessica Johnson, who also serves as president of the Band Parents Association. “They learned how important service, professionalism, and teamwork are in any career field.”
The success of the project inspired three WHS freshmen — Andy Perez, Sophie Stanley, and Madison Mitchell — to select the Lumberjack Concession Stand Community Service initiative as their team project for the 2025–2026 SkillsUSA competition season.
In addition, 11 WHS SkillsUSA members will represent Warren at the Arkansas SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference in Hot Springs on April 13–15, 2026.
Due to the impact of this effort, WHS SkillsUSA plans to continue supporting the concession stand during the 2026 football season when games resume in August.
