Outreach
Jesus taught that he “came not to be served, but to serve.” Service to others is an integral part of our identity as an Episcopal school. Outreach activities at WES very much spring from the interests, enthusiasm and commitment of our students, classroom teachers, administration and parent community. All of our students are involved in such activities in one way or another, and in the Middle School there is a community service requirement of 10 hours per year. Community service and outreach at WES are overseen and supported by the Religion and Outreach Committee of the Board of Trustees, the Parents’ Community Service Committee and three faculty committees.
For the Poor and the Homeless
A number of our annual outreach events are directed at helping the poor and the homeless in our area:
- In the fall, the school community participates in a walk-a-thon for the homeless in support of Hope and a Home, a non-profit organization in Washington, DC, dedicated to assisting the homeless and providing transitional housing for those folks who are moving from homelessness to independence. In addition, representatives from Hope and a Home visit the school to educate our students about homelessness and poverty, and many of our school families have become involved with the organization in other ways.
- At Thanksgiving, the school community collects non-perishable foods to donate to Samaritan Ministry of Greater Washington, a non-profit community partnership bringing together homeless people and others in need in the Greater Washington area with support and volunteers from Episcopal churches and other churches in a joint effort to improve the lives of all.
- At Christmas, the school annually decorates “a Mitten Tree” – a Christmas tree that stands in the school’s lobby on which school families hang hats, scarves, mittens and gloves that are ultimately donated to our friends at Samaritan Ministry.
- Through the year, the Middle School students make sandwiches and collect toilet articles for Bethesda Cares.
The school has also been involved in a number of “emergency” community service projects to support victims of natural disasters, such as after the tsunami that hit Thailand and in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
For the Elderly WES has a special relationship with the senior citizen residents of two nearby assisted-living facilities – Brighton Gardens and Springhouse Assisted Living – and supports these communities in a wide variety of ways. For example:
- Our youngest NTK students provide centerpieces for the residents of these homes during Halloween
- We invite the residents of these homes to our Annual Book Fair in November
- Our first graders make Thanksgiving cards for the residents each year; our second graders sing Christmas carols at Springhouse
- We invite the residents from both facilities to WES for our annual chapel service commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- The nursery school students perform a “frog puppet show” for these residents in May. Students at different grade levels participate in making birthday and holiday cards and sponsoring birthday parties for the residents.
In addition to our relationship with Brighton Gardens and Springhouse, our third graders frequently offer a recorder recital for the residents of the Lisner-Louise-Dickson-Hurt Home, the only private, non-profit, non-sectarian charitable Home specifically for indigent, elderly individuals who are residents of the District of Columbia.
For a More Diverse Community
As part of its broader commitment to diversity and multi-culturalism, WES is regularly involved in projects that support the diverse populations of our area. For example:
- From time to time, our students participate in the annual Black Student Fund Fair, the oldest and largest of its kind in the nation. The Black Student Fund is an organization that provides financial assistance and support services to Washington metropolitan area African-American students, grades pre-kindergarten to 12, and their families.
- Our middle schoolers also volunteer each month at Rosemount Children’s Center, an organization affiliated with the Episcopal Church that provides comprehensive childcare and education for infants and very young children of low- and moderate-income families, especially within the Spanish-speaking community.
For our Environment
WES is committed to environmentally and ecologically sound practices, and reflects this commitment in many of our community service projects. For example:
- Our students are regularly involved in recycling efforts and clean-up projects of the surrounding area, including the Little Falls Parkway and Capital Crescent Trail adjacent to the school.
- The middle schoolers have also performed roadside clean-up in the Caroline Furnace area in the Shenandoah Mountains in connection with an annual Middle School trip.
For our World
WES’s outreach activities also occasionally extend beyond our national borders. For example:
- The entire school family – faculty, students and parents – supports our sister school in La Cieba, Honduras and sponsors a student there.
- We also contribute to the Heifer Project International, which sends farm animals to needy communities around the world.
A familiar blessing from the Book of Common Prayer concludes with the words that we are “to be ever mindful of the needs of others.” We try to make this prayer the guiding spirit of the mission and life of the Washington Episcopal School.
