<p>I’m just wondering how many boarding school students do their community service projects on campus. Not every kid can afford to fly to South Africa during the summer to volunteer at a rural health clinic. And I can’t imagine that schools with large boarding populations can arrange the transportation needed to shuttle kids back and forth to town every day for whatever project they’re involved in. So do kids ever do projects at school? I’m thinking maybe working as tutors for other students, or doing fundraising for a school activity, or planting a community garden, or . . . ???</p>
<p>I think it depends on the school. My children attend a boarding school where they have on-campus “co-op” projects as ongoing requirements, along with the 60-hour outside community service requirement. They have a broad range of options, and students are welcome to propose their own. Have you consulted with the coordinator for the service program at your school? There are usually more affordable domestic trips, for those who can’t afford the more exotic ones: my elder son worked on community rebuilding projects in New Orleans, and my younger son will be volunteering in a school on the Navajo Reservation. Those trips were a fraction of the cost of trips to Africa or Asia.</p>
<p>My daughter’s boarding school actively encourages community service. They have weekly opportunities for service in the local food bank, in an underprivileged pre-school, in a school for the developmentally challenged, community clean ups…just a few. Those that can not afford to fly to Africa, India etc can get sponsored and get a scholarship.
Service need not grind to a halt simply because your child is away at school.</p>
<p>Thanks for the interesting replies! What I am wondering about, though, are opportunities to do community service on the boarding school campus. Do you know of any creative projects students have undertaken without ever having to leave the school?</p>
<p>@dodgersmom: I know of at least one program at SAS that is on campus: their adaptive swimming program, where kids come to SAS and use the pool. </p>
<p>And I think there have been a few service projects sponsored by students here and there…recently there was a fundraising concert. SAS is 100% boarding, and does not have a service requirement, but many kids are involved in some sort of service program during the year.</p>
<p>George School has both a senior citizen center and a preschool located on the campus. I think students can arrange to fulfill the community service requirement by working in either location. (This would be in addition to the regular weekly work shift on campus required of all students.)</p>
<p>Students can also get approval for an independent service project in their home towns (or elsewhere) during the summer. There is partial financial aid available for the service trips, some of which are domestic.</p>
<p>Similarly Groton has a preschool on campus which serves the local community and staff. Students are able to volunteer there from V form on, there is also a summer school for the underserved that uses the campus, and kids volunteer at that. During the year community servive can be peformed on site by sorting through recycling, work programs ans by organizing projects such as
Walk for Hunger
Mass Coalition for the Homeless fundraiser
Red Cross Blood drives
3 v 3 Soccer for AIDS
Tag sales to support Groton Community Service “Glocal” engagements
More than Words book drives
End-of-year recycling and clean-up efforts
Does that answer your question :)</p>
<p>The kids love to get community service hours by organizing charity tournaments on campus, or “Walks for Alzheimers” “Walks for Diabetes” etc. Gives them good experience learning to set up an event, is fun for the participants and can raise a lot of money.</p>
<p>Here are my favorites from my school and my friends’ schools:</p>
<p>-A community garden, the produce from which goes to a local food bank
-Students who volunteer to be in charge of “areas of concern” meaning they are responsible for keeping a certain part of the campus neat and trash-free.
-A school that hosts the Special Olympics</p>
<p>Lots of fundraisers:
tennis tournament for cancer research
-a pottery club that sells mugs (filled with ice cream) for environmental causes</p>
<p>and the most bizarre:
-Moustache Month, where boys and men grow facial hair and encourage sponsors to support them in support of wounded Marines. A worthy cause, but it sounded like an odd event when it was explained to me.</p>
<p>Here’s a link to the SPS Community Outreach page. You’ll find options for organized community service there. Many students also arrange their own projects while at school or at home during breaks/summer.</p>
<p>[St</a>. Paul’s School ~ Community Outreach](<a href=“http://www.sps.edu/podium/default.aspx?t=5769]St”>http://www.sps.edu/podium/default.aspx?t=5769)</p>