Community Engagement
At Greenwich Academy, we believe that community engagement builds character, and GA students provide thousands of hours of service every year. We connect engagement to the mission of our school by being intentional about the organizations we support.
Focus
Our community engagement program aims to:
- Build character and instill civic-mindedness
- Make students aware of the needs of our local community and larger issues facing society
- Develop caring human beings who understand that their talents and energy make a difference
Outlets
Here are just a few of the organizations where GA students volunteered this year:
Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich
Building One Community in Stamford
Caritas of Port Chester
Neighbor to Neighbor in Greenwich
Family Centers in Greenwich and Darien
Part of the Solution in the Bronx
Abilis of Greenwich
Service at Every Level
Lower School
Thinking of others starts with our youngest students, who collect mittens, socks, canned soup, and birthday supplies for people in need. Often ideas for community service initiatives come from the girls themselves, leading to projects such as eyeglass donations and orangutan rescue.
Middle School
As they get older, students contribute more of themselves to community service efforts. While still gathering food for Thanksgiving and collecting money for natural disaster relief, they also raise money for local organizations by making and selling their own crafts at the annual MS Craft Fair. They also participate in volunteer work through community service days and regular visits to the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich.
Upper School
Starting with a fall ninth-grade service day, community engagement is woven into Upper School life. Girls can take classes that feature volunteer work as part of the curriculum and join any of the more than 30 different service and awareness clubs that engage in service in a variety of ways. Upper School Community Service initiatives are led by a student Community Service Board that helps promote community service opportunities throughout the year in addition to our school-sponsored events such as Thanksgiving’s Ingathering assembly, the Red Cross Blood Drive, the annual New Orleans Habitat for Humanity trip, and the NYC outreach mission Midnight Run.