9/30/2022
Service has long been a part of Episcopal High School’s culture, but for the past two and a half years the School’s ability to provide the service-based activities offered pre-pandemic was severely limited. In reviewing the Service Learning Program last year, the School re-envisioned what it could be and how Episcopal could best inspire our students to embrace service to others as a core value. This assessment culminated with a new service requirement, unveiled this summer. Beginning with the EHS Class of 2026, all students will be required to complete five approved service activities each year over the course of their time on the Hill. For many, lending support to those in need is a powerful experience, but finding the time and opportunity can be a hurdle in a student's busy high school schedule. A goal of Episcopal’s Service Learning Program and its Service Council will be to help facilitate access to these opportunities.
Seeing service to others as one of the values in Episcopal’s Portrait of a Graduate, Assistant Chaplain and Service Learning Coordinator Richmond Jones is optimistic the freshman class will experience opportunities for reflection through serving their community on Saturday mornings. “It’s not just a lost Saturday morning, it’s a time when they are building relationships with the people around them,” he said.
Episcopal’s Service Council, comprising active student volunteers, is dedicated to introducing all students to their surrounding community through service engagement opportunities. Jones hopes students will feel empowered to identify an area of service they feel most passionate about. “I want them to not only increase their awareness and access, but also to learn to advocate for their issue,” Jones said.
One of Service Council’s main projects is selling concessions at home football games to raise money for Episcopal’s sister school in Haiti. As they gently emerge from Covid-19 precautions, Jones describes the Service Council’s student leadership as extremely energetic and committed to bettering the student body through volunteerism.
One recent service event collaboration combined the energies of Episcopal’s Young Republicans, Young Democrats, and Service Council. They followed the mission of Pay it Forward, an organization to “never forget” those who perished on 9/11. Pay it Forward made a goal to help develop communities with three good deeds. YRC, YDC, and Service Council banded together to encourage the EHS family to perform three good deeds within the community to witness kindness travel. Jones expects more collaborative efforts to happen between Service Council and other student organizations on campus as the year progresses.
“Service is not just up to the Service Council,” Jones wants to remind everyone. “All of our students can pursue a cause that they care about. The best work often comes straight from the heart.”
Service Council will continue their efforts to support the following:
AFAC (Arlington Food Assistance Center)
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church Community Garden
KEEN (Kids Experiencing Exercise Now)
Ivy Hill Cemetery
Alexandria Animal Welfare League
Emerging Scholars
Over the course of the school year, they also plan to work with:
Arcadia Farms
ALIVE!
Quantico National Cemetery
Casa Chirilagua
Martha's Table
Carpenter's Shelter
Be The Good
The Society of St. Andrew Orchard Gleaning
Lucky Dog Animal Rescue
