Community Engagement
At Greenwich Academy, Toward the Building of Character is more than our motto—it’s a call to action. We cultivate deep empathy and awareness in our girls, empowering them to understand the needs of others and become compassionate leaders who create positive change in the world.
Lower School
Our youngest students learn about the needs of others, practice kindness, collect donations, and serve alongside big GA sisters to cultivate empathy.
Middle School
Middle School students ignite their passion for service by actively exploring local needs and global issues through engaging awareness-raising clubs.
Upper School
Through the Center for Public Purpose, Upper School students engage in transformative service leadership, civic engagement, and global citizenship.
GA empowers girls to discover their purpose, cultivate confidence, and emerge as impactful changemakers.
Program Overview
Meet the Team
“We love weaving acts of service into the Lower School curriculum. Our hope is that if we expose students to many different ways to serve, they can figure out what causes are meaningful to them and find their own way to leave their positive mark and make the world a better place.”
Brooke Bancroft
Group IV Head Teacher
“I love helping students spread positivity and joy through our Kindness Club with Andy Fernandez! It provides wonderful opportunities to reinforce the importance of empathy, put a smile on peoples faces, and inspire students to engage in acts of kindness in and outside of GA!”
Nikki Bazie-Hayes
MS Counselor
“It’s not difficult to cultivate empathy in our youngest learners; lower school students are naturally empathetic! We hope to draw their attention to needs both big and small, local and global, and illuminate the ways that they can make a meaningful difference in the world.”
Rachel Bock
LS Art Teacher
“One of my favorite events is the Midnight Run. US students run a monthlong clothing drive and help make food and toiletry bags for those in need. We then take a group of students into New York to donate the items and directly engage with people we’re helping. Students see directly the impact they are having. These types of experiences last a lifetime.”
Chris Bodnar
US Math Teacher
“Toward the Building of Character is a cornerstone of the GA experience. US students embrace the importance of living out this charge. Whether volunteering for a class project, independently partnering with local agencies, or conducting research on critical issues our students learn and lead with integrity and compassion.”
Connie Blunden
Center for Public Purpose Director, Global Online Academy Director, US History Teacher
“I love seeing our MS students' excitement and motivation to help out in the community! Whether spreading wood chips with PC and CCers or writing cards for veterans, I get to witness that spark of thinking and doing for others ignited in them.”
Annie Heinemann
MS Dance Teacher
“Middle school is the perfect time for students to lead service projects at GA and beyond. One of my favorites is the annual MS Craft Fair. Students make and sell their own crafts, with proceeds benefiting organizations they vote on. This year, the energy was palpable; the girls raised over $4,000 in just one hour!”
Caroline Montgelas
MS Assistant Head, MS English Teacher
“Community Service Day is a cherished tradition—we learn so much stepping outside our usual routines. Volunteering at Binney Park and Tod's Point and playing with children at area preschools—we’re so much more than our academics. It’s fun to be appreciated, too, of course—last year, one toddler lay on the ground and cried as Group VIII students said goodbye.”
Maureen Moser
MS Latin Teacher
“At GA, we emphasize the importance of being stewards to the many communities where our students belong. This means taking care of our on-campus community as well as the communities where we live. Our students readily accept the challenge to be changemakers for good in every community they enter. ”
Bobby Walker Jr.
Assistant Head for Community & Student Life, US History Teacher