Community Service: Part of the Culture & Curriculum at The Stanwich School

A Stanwich School 8th grader volunteers at the

Waterside School in Stamford.

Walt Whitman once said, "The habit of giving only enhances the desire to give." This simple phrase describes the motivation for community service at The Stanwich School.

Promoting awareness of and service to others is an essential part of The Stanwich School’s mission, and has been since its inception 10 years ago. Monthly activities are designed to expand students’ awareness and to demonstrate through action that their contributions are meaningful.  These projects teach students that people must work together to make the world a better place.

While every student participates in community service, projects are stepped in difficulty and time commitment based on age. Many of the younger grades hold special collections (toys, books, artsupplies, etc.) so that they can appreciate service on a personal level and see how much they can help to better the lives of other children. 

The older grades, however, have the opportunity to participate in more distinctive and higher-level projects. In the Junior House, seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade students are divided into service teams and, under the supervision of faculty members, each team volunteers on-site at a particular community organization on a monthly basis throughout the school year. These regular visits give students tangible experience to better themselves while helping others.  Here's a look at the various local programs the students participate in:

Hill House: During their interaction with the Hill House this year, Stanwich students helped take care of the property, cleaning windows, sweeping, taking out trash, keeping the outside clean, etc. Students also interacted with the senior citizen residents of the Hill House, helping to keep their rooms clean and sitting with them and talking. I know the residents appreciated the company and good cheer provided by our students and our students enjoyed their interactions with the Hill House population.

Wolf Conservation: Founded in 1999, The Wolf Conservation Center promotes wolf conservation by teaching about wolves, their relationship to the environment, and the human role in protecting their future. The wolf conservation Center is home to an Ambassador pack of four gray wolves that help us fulfill our education mission.  They are very special, and they accomplish this mission with great enthusiasm. Students will have an opportunity to meet the ambassador wolves; Apache, Atka, Kaila, Lukas and provide the wolf community support and labor.

Audubon: The Greenwich Audubon Society offered a unique service opportunity for our students. As an environmental education center, the Audubon enriched us regarding sustainable living and protecting this special sanctuary. As a site for community service, the students were able to work alongside Audubon volunteers helping to maintain the grounds and habitat for the native species as well as provide assistance with program administration.

Stamford Food Bank: The Stamford Food Bank continues to be an excellent community service opportunity for our school. In addition to learning about the needs of the community served by the food bank, the students are able to make meaningful contributions to the food bank on each visit. The students stack shelves, sort foods, arrange shelf displays, and check for expired foods. I was impressed with the commitment and dedication of all of our students.

Stamford Museum: The students have a broad range of activities to do at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center.  There work is always manual labor in the form of a team.  On one visit the students moved an entire nursery school set up from one building to another.  On another, they cleared a path of rocks and sticks to make room for the Maple Syrup Tapping Trail Walk in the winter.  The kids always have a fun time looking around the farm at the animals and being outside.

Kids in Crisis: Each week a group of students gets together at a teacher’s home to cook a meal for the children who are living in the KIC house in Greenwich. Due to privacy and confidentiality laws the JH students are not permitted to have contact with these children. This does not, however, lesson their excitement in making lasagna, salad, and brownies for kids in need. They also make a card and deliver the food to the front door.

St Luke’s Lifeworks Cooking: Each CS week a group of students is hosted by Pat Young to prepare food to be distributed at the Soup Kitchen sponsored by St. Luke’s Lifeworks. After making chili, wraps, cornbread and the such, these students serve with Mrs. Young on Sunday morning in the food line. The entire process brings the kids full circle in helping others; they not only make the food, they see and serve those that they made it from.

St. Luke’s Lifeworks on location: St. Luke’s LifeWorks is a non-profit organization providing educational opportunities, housing options and support services to more than 500 adults and children who face homelessness each year. The organization helps individuals and families who are affected by homelessness, HIV/AIDS, and mental illness learn to make their lives work better.  Programs provide life-long learning, emergency and supportive housing and other needed direct aid.  Stanwich students helped in a variety of ways including straightening out the organization’s store, organizing the play space for young children, and cleaning the yard.  This assistance frees up LifeWorks’ staff to work directly with people.  

Waterside School: This school year, Junior House students who have volunteered at The Waterside School have played many roles. They have assisted in organizing the new upper school library, helped decorate hallways, and worked closely with students in grades K-4, both in the gymnasium and in the classroom. They have offered helping hands to the custodial staff, classroom teachers and coaches.

Greenwich Adult Day Care: Students went to Nathaniel Witherell, the current home of the Greenwich Adult Day Care. The students spent time visiting with the seniors, playing connect four, making holiday decorations, helping to cleanup from lunch or serve dessert. The most valuable thing the Stanwich students did, though was to simply spend time visiting with the members of the day care, who became familiar to them and friendly with them over the course of the year.

Greenwich Clean and Green: The Green and Clean kids pick up garbage at Todd’s Point and plant bulbs at sites throughout the town. Mary Hull, the coordinator, teaches the kids about how to better protect the environment.

Service for Stanwich: We cultivated the ground, pulled out poison ivy (at great personal sacrifice!) and planted flowers at 257 Stanwich Road to beautify the drive up to the parking lots; flowers were planted right at the “V” before cars proceed up the hill. While several students helped collect paper from throughout the PH and IH to be recycled, several other students shelved books for Miz Liz and then helped her decorate the library for the winter holidays.