Amanda Paolino ’15: Looking for an opportunity to serve our local community? This year, the Community Outreach program at EA has added a number of initiatives for both students and faculty alike. In addition to the standard Thursday trips to UCHC (University City Hospitality Coalition), Free Music Fridays, and the Cook Wissahickon School program, the Community Outreach Board has established alternative options in hopes of greater school participation.
In an effort to accommodate the varied and often hectic schedules of those in our community, Susan Swanson, Director of Community Outreach, stated that she “worked to develop more early morning and Saturday projects.” Rebecca Brinks, Assistant Director of Community Outreach, also communicated their common goal of “mixing on and off campus projects to give options to students who have other time commitments.”
In addition, Brinks indicated her hope that students will use these new programs an introduction into becoming more familiar with service. What follows is a list of the new projects for this upcoming school year given by the Community Outreach Program.
1. “Movies with a Meaning” meets five times a year. Each meeting begins with a documentary based on a societal issue, followed by students helping to make dinners for the hungry.
2. “Doing Good Together” is a drop-in event held once a month at 7:00 AM for the Upper School community. Each meeting will have a different project, such as bagging lunches for the homeless at UCHC.
3. “Morning in the Middle” takes place in the Middle School study hall every Tuesday morning at 7:00 AM for Middle School students. This event also has a different service project each week, such as making toys for the seeing eye dogs or creating bookmarks for the school supplies collection.
4. Safe Harbor is a homeless shelter that the Community Outreach Program offers three trips to throughout the school year.
5. “Stop Hunger Now” is a hunger relief organization that will be coming to EA on Saturday, February 7th. With the aid of the EA community, 3,000 meals can be made and packaged in less than two hours.
6. The Ronald McDonald House of Philadelphia is a non-profit organization that provides comfort and care to sick children and their families. EA visits the Ronald McDonald House periodically throughout the school year on both weekends and weekdays to assist in the kitchen.
7. “Think Outside the Box” is an alternative gift market that will be open during the Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 6th. Boxes will be placed in the Middle School Study Hall where you can make a donation in someone else’s name to one of EA’s eight community partner organizations.