Community Service
Welcome
to the Community Service Webpage
of the Lab School of Washington
Maintained by Rhetor Marcus (Mr. Ferrara), room 202. Please make a copy of any community service documentation that you submit so that parents, students, and Rhetor Marcus all have the same information. Give verification forms (see below) to him in person or in his office mailbox. Do NOT leave a form unattended on his desk.
"Try to help others."
Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama
"Our lives no longer belong to us alone; they belong to all those who need us desperately."
Elie Wiesel, Winner of the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize in his acceptance speech.
Students of the Lab School of Washington must perform and document 100 hours of community service between their graduation from 8th grade and their graduation from 12th. That equals 25 hours per year or 2 hours and 5 minutes per month. Certainly we can find 2 hours out of our month to help people who need us, right?
Here is a very valuable document that you should download and keep handy: The Lab School of Washington Community Service Criteria and Verification Form. Please familiarize yourself with the criteria so that no one invests a great deal of time in an activity and later finds that it does not qualify. It is the student's responsibility to complete the top part of the form, give it to their activity supervisor to complete, and either get it back from the supervisor and give it to me (Rhetor Marcus/Señor Ferrara) or ensure that the supervisor will do so.
Students may earn community service credit by WRITING about their service using these Community Service Reflection Statement Guidelines
"We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give."
Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister during World War II
OPPORTUNITIES
Download Mr. Ferrara's guidelines on earning credit for sponsored walks.
If you learn of an opportunity for community service, please e-mail me at ferrara@labschool.org.
IMMEDIATE and COMING SOON
JUNE
Start your vacation off right by performing community service!
Remove Invasive Plants from the Capital Crescent Trail
The Capital Crescent Trail runs from K Street in Georgetown to Bethesda and beyond. Many of the trees that border it are threatened by non-native species that do not have local native competitors. Help to keep the trees along the trail healthy by removing destructive plants from the native trees. These events are sponsored by different organizations on different dates. Visit each one, bookmark it, and check its calendar monthly.
June 7: Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail
July 7 & August 4
- Capital Crescent Trail
The first Wednesday of each month from 10am – 11:30am – Rain or shine. Meeting location TBD. Check Montgomery Parks Weed Warriors website the week of the project or call 301-949-0223. Help us save the magnificent native trees along the Capital Crescent Trail! Join Montgomery County Parks Certified Weed Warrior Supervisor, David Brooks, as we manually remove the invasive vines from trees along this well loved trail. English ivy vines cover the trees, slowly killing them. The vines also harbor a bacterial leaf scorch that affects a wide variety of native and ornamental trees. Other invasive vines completely engulf the trees, shading them out and overburdening them with added weight, causing the trees to topple. Help us save them!!- map
Community Service Opportunity for You and your Horse!
The Humane Society of the United States and the American Competitive Trail Horse Association (ACTHA), a nationwide trail riders' association, are collaborating in a trail ride to be held coast-to-coast on June 13 to benefit The HSUS' equine protection programs.
The funds will be used specifically to support The HSUS' diverse array of programs and partnerships that assist the national horse rescue community and at-risk horses across the country. if you would like more info please see Ms. Porterfield. (You do need to bring a horse so this one may not be for everyone.)
If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one. Mother Teresa
ONGOING
Founded in 1980 on Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday, the CAFB is the largest, nonprofit hunger and nutrition education resource in the Washington Metropolitan area. Since that time, we have made tremendous strides to expand our services and annually distribute 23 million pounds of food to more than 383,000 people through our invaluable network of partner agencies. We are committed to uplifting those in need, providing the best services possible and helping those who are without the means to help themselves.Click on the picture above to access their volunteer page.
Food and Friends
For people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses, the battle is far from over. We just make sure no one has to face it on an empty stomach.
Along with nutrition counseling, Food & Friends prepares, packages and delivers meals and groceries to more than 1,400 people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses throughout Washington, DC, 7 counties of Maryland and 7 counties and 6 independent cities in Virginia. Since 1988, Food & Friends has provided food and companionship to our clients, their loved ones and caregivers. Click the picture above for the Food and Friends volunteer page.
Lisner-Louise-Dickson-Hurt Home,
5425 Western Ave. NW Washington, DC 20015 • Phone: (202) 966-6667
The mission of the Lisner-Louise-Dickson-Hurt Home is to provide extraordinary health and life care services to indigent and modest income seniors of the District of Columbia, empowering them to live their lives to the fullest.
PALISADES VILLAGE
Palisades Village is an association of senior citizens and their allies designed to provide our neighbors in Palisades with the services and support they need to live at home and to participate fully in the life of our communities. They have invited us at the Lab School to establish a relationship between our students and their members to enrich all of our lives. They have specifically identified several areas in which they would like help. Here are some of them:
1. Designing a float for their entry in the Palisades July 4th parade. Stagecraft, architectural and set design, and other art students, this is right up your alley!
2. Graphic arts help in redesigning their stationery and website.
3. Computer gurus to help in the office and individual homes, and to help maintain and improve their membership database.
Read their brochure on the weblink above or on the Community Service bulletin board outside 204. See Rhetor Marcus Ferrara for more information or ideas. Let's get this party started!
Pet Visiting -- PAL volunteer owners and their volunteer pets visit nursing homes, hospitals and other places in need of TLC in the D.C. metro area. Our certification for your pet is friendly and easy so that your dog (or other pet!) can start visiting ASAP.
So Others Might Eat (S.O.M.E.)
Restoring hope and dignity one person at a time<!-- InstanceEndEditable -->
<!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="About_SOME" -->So Others Might Eat has served the District of Columbia for nearly 40 years,
working to
- Meet the most basic needs of our city’s homeless and poor citizens
- Empower those who are ready to make real and lasting changes in their lives
- Advocate for stronger governmental solutions to poverty and homelessness
in the District
Over the years, SOME has helped thousands of people get off the streets, transform their lives, and learn to live independently. SOME has many volunteer opportuntities. Click on the picture above to access SOME's volunteer information page.
PROJECTS BY REGION
Here are links to local websites that help you find service opportunities near where you live. Some are more user-friendly than others. If you find another one, please let me know.
INDEPENDENT PROJECTS
Do you have a project in mind that you can do independently? Do you have a neighbor who needs help regularly with lawncare or shopping? Download this packet of instructions for planning and executing an independent community service project.
PRIVATE SERVICE PROGRAM COMPANIES
I learn about these from time to time but cannot evaluate them. This list is for information only. If you can give me any first-hand information on any of them, please do.
Overland, Williamstown, MA 01267, 413-458-9672
Student Conservation Association, Charlestown, New Hampshire 03603-0550, 603-543-1700
TO BE REPEATED in 2010-2011
October
On or about October 1:
On or about October 17:
LSW Haunted Halloween Walk as part of the 2009 Palisades Family Night
On or about October 23:
Montgomery
Join thousands of county residents who will take to the streets. Get a group of your friends, family, neighbors, or co-workers together to get something done and make a difference!
23 Saturday
Step Out for Diabetes, Washington Nationals Park
On or about October 30:
NOVEMBER
On or about Saturday, 6 November 2010
Spina Bifida occurs when the spine of a baby fails to close during the first month of pregnancy. Those who are born with SB may suffer from a number of challenges, including learning disabilities. Help to raise funds to support these people by walking with them and their friends.
Saturday, 20
Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Walkathon
For more than 20 years, Fannie Mae’s Help the Homeless Program has brought together caring and committed individuals to work toward ending homelessness in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. In one day you can impact the lives of more than 12,000 people affected by homelessness in our area by joining tens of thousands of walkers taking part in the Annual Help the Homeless Walkathon on Saturday, November 20. Your efforts can help end homelessness for our most vulnerable citizens. Click on the picture above to register online.
DECEMBER
Zoolights at the National Zoo
ZooLights is coming up fast! For the third year the National Zoo will shine with thousands of environmentally friendly lights and animated exhibits for 19 nights. These larger-than-life displays will feature many of the Zoo’s most popular animals, all constructed of LED lights that use about 90 percent less energy than traditional incandescent light bulbs. The Zoo will need volunteer help for each night of ZooLights. The event will take place Friday through Sunday nights, December 4-13 and every night December 18-January 2, except December 24, 25, and 31, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Volunteers must check in no later than 5:30pm. This event will run from the Panda Plaza to the Kids’ Farm. Volunteers are needed to help with registration, act as greeters, and act as costumed characters or as character escorts. The minimum age to volunteer is 15. Anyone not volunteering must buy a ticket to attend. This event will take place outdoors which means you will be volunteering outside. December can mean rain or snow, so dress for the weather. The event will not be cancelled due to weather unless the Zoo closes because of icy walkways. See Ms. Porterfield, the biology teacher, in room 207 for more information. Click the picture above for more info on volunteering.
JANUARY
4 through March 18
Lab School of Washington After-School Program
The winter session of after-school activities at the Lab School begins on January 4 and ends March 18. Help a teacher with his young charges 1 day a week for 2-1/2 hours. Contact Ms. Holley, After-School Director, or visit the Community Service Bulletin Board outside of 204, for specific information on which classes will need help.
23 - Polar Bear Plunge in the Chesapeake Bay
Get cold to stop global warming! And have fun and raise money while you're doing it! Join hundreds of climate activists as we jump into the Chesapeake Bay and other cold bodies of water on January 23, 2010, raising money and awareness and making clear our continuing call for Congress and our nation to Keep Winter Cold! Fight Global Warming! Click on the image above to learn more and register.
Lab School Spring Fair!
Volunteers will be needed to set up the stations on Saturday and staff them on Sunday:
Saturday, April 25, set-up, 10:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 26, set-up, staffing, clean-up, 10:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
If you can assist in any way, please contact Ms. Bonnie Perlman.
Saturday May 1-Sunday May 2: Avon Walk for Breast Cancer
Cheer the walkers on at a cheering station. 3 things to download: (1) the list of cheering stations to find one near you. (2) the release form, have your parent sign it, and take it with you to the event; (3) the community service verification form designed for this event to make it easier for AWBC staff. Check in with a staffperson when you arrive, have them note the time; check out when you leave and have them note the time, sign it, and provide contact information. Return the form to Mr. Ferrara next week.
May 8: Imani Temple Mother's Day Luncheon
Here is an opportunity for students to receive 4.5 community service hours. The service is waiting tables at the Mother's Day Luncheon that Imani Temple on Capitol Hill is sponsoring on Saturday, May 8th. Students should arrive by 12:30 p.m. Attire is white shirts and black bottoms. Imani Temple is located at 609-611 Maryland Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002 (5 blocks from Union Station Metro.) Contact Lisa Watson in the Lab School's Psychological Services Department, at 202-454-2247 or Lisa.Watson@labschool.org.
May 10: Iona Senior Services Volunteer Information and Registration Event
Since 1975, Iona Senior Services has served as a respected and trusted provider of essential services for Washington DC elders, their families and the community. Learn how to volunteer to help them in their mission at this event. Call or e-mail Lylie Fisher at 202-895-9425 or lfisher@iona.org. Some fliers are available on the community service bulletin board.
Half-Day Hoopla, Tuesday, May 11
Ms. Holley, Director of After-School, is recruiting assistants for this exciting event after early dismissal. Students who are interested in snakes are especially encouraged to participate. Call Ms. Holley at 202-641-5847 or e-mail her at lisa.holley@labschool.org for more information.
MAY
The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is a life-changing event that gives everyone in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. At Relay, teams of people camp out at a local high school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Because cancer never sleeps, Relays are overnight events up to 24 hours in length. Visit the link for more information but also see Chris Lanier or Kara Amey.
March 30-June 3
Lab School of Washington Spring After-School Program
Download this description of the spring after-school classes. Decide whether you would like to help with any of them. If so, contact Ms. Holley in her office on the loading dock, at lisa.holley@labschool.org, or at 202-944-2202.