HEBRON — Hebron Academy began the holiday season on Thursday, Nov. 15 with its second annual All-School Community Service Day.

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Hebron Academy seniors Joe Ford, left, of Sarasota, Fla., and Jeff Turcotte of Lewiston string Christmas lights in public spaces around Norway, including at the fountain behind the town offices on Danforth Street.

More than 240 upper-school students and their advisers rallied before heading out to lend a hand at area organizations including Good Shepherd Food-Bank, Leeds Historical Society, Camp Sunshine Maine, Hebron Station School, McLaughlin Garden, Community Little Theatre and others.

“This is an important day for Hebron,” said Director of Student Life and Information Technology Alex Godomsky, who spearheaded the program. “Many of the organizations and individuals we visit look forward to our students’ help every year, whether it’s blazing trails for the Western Foothills Land Trust with chain saws and loppers, reading with a first-grader at the Hebron Station School or building lasagna beds at Rippling Waters Organic Farm.”

The initiative began last year in an effort to expand the academy’s community involvement and teach students civic responsibility. “We hope to represent Hebron Academy’s mission through this day of lending a hand, all while providing needed services to the communities where we live and work,” Godomsky continued.

Serving the surrounding community is a major component of the academy’s culture and curriculum, and has been since the founding of the school in 1804. Students volunteer regularly during the week at Hebron Station Elementary School and make weekly visits to McLaughlin Garden.

The academy also shares the benefits of its campus with the surrounding area, offering access to its thousand-plus acres of trails and art and athletic facilities and hosting programs such as the Cohen Chamber Music Series.