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Miss South Carolina's Teen and nonprofit founder urges Richland One to make service a core part of education
Summary
Logan Wells, founder of Fresh Friends and Miss South Carolina's Teen 2026, told the board that student volunteerism combats loneliness and builds leadership, and she urged the district to consider districtwide service projects and partnerships and possibly a service-based graduation requirement.
Logan Wells, introduced during the public comment period as a rising senior, founder of the nonprofit Fresh Friends and Miss South Carolina’s Teen 2026, urged the Richland One board to make volunteer service a central element of student development.
Wells told commissioners that service helped her find belonging and develop skills outside the classroom and cited youth loneliness data and declining volunteer participation nationwide. "Service doesn't just give you that chance to find a sense of belonging. It also helps students to discover and develop skills that may not be nurtured in a typical classroom environment," she told the board, proposing districtwide or schoolwide service projects, partnerships with local nonprofits, and conversations about service as a graduation requirement.
Wells said her organization has connected teens across public, private and home-school systems and provided more than 300 hours of community-service opportunities in recent efforts, and she invited further conversation with district leaders. The board received the comment and moved on to the next agenda item.
