Individual Community Service

CRS Students Skyping with Students in Kliptown, South Africa

All 7th and 8th grade students at Charles River School plan a year-long community service project, either individually or in a small group.  Each of these projects must involve hands-on active participation by the students and direct interaction with the people they are helping.  Advisors and parents play a role in the beginning stages, helping the students get organized and launching their projects – and then the students take on the responsibility of seeing the projects through to completion.  At the end of the project, the students share with each other and the 6th grade what they did and what they learned.  Some of the 7/8 projects completed last year were a blog for students in an after school program in Kliptown, South Africa and CRS to “meet” and share cultures, preparing and serving a series of dinners at a local Salvation Army, work with the Metrowest Interfaith Hospitality Network, volunteering at the Boston Day and Evening Program, and working at the Medway Family Shelter.

Preparing a Salvation Army Dinner

Individual students or groups of students in other grades organize community service projects in response to world events – or in connection with something that they learn about or discover in school.  Last year, a second grade student organized a “Treats 4 Troops” project – she collected candy following Halloween and sent care packages to active military troops serving abroad.  A group of 7th graders organized a winter coat drive for a local Reach shelter.  And a CRS 5th grader launched a Pennies for Peace campaign for Greg Mortenson’s Central Asia Institute.  Several of these individual efforts earned PIN (Parent’s Independent School Network) special recognition awards.