Community Service in the Upper School

Ongoing Full-Year Initiatives

  • Greater Boston Food Bank, Boston Food Bank Warehouse

    Monthly, One Saturday every month

    Faculty sponsor: Chris Seashore

    Club leaders: Armine Afeyan, Allie Metropoulos, Lillian Kivel

    At the Greater Boston Food Bank students sort and package food items, preparing them to go to service organizations around the city. Coming each month is not required, but a core group of volunteers go regularly. Students must be 16 or older to participate. Winsor students have been volunteering at the food bank for eight years.

  • Horizons for Homeless Children: Family House

    Weekly, Tuesdays from 6-7:30 p.m.

    Faculty sponsor: Sarah O'Neill

    Club Leaders: Liz Kuenstner, Paige Beaton

    Students work with children ages 2 to 12 in play spaces created by Horizons for Homeless Children. They work on craft projects and homework with older children and play games with younger children while their parents take classes. Since the children get to know volunteers, Winsor students commit to attending regularly. Volunteers must be 16 or older to participate. Students have been volunteering with homeless children through either Horizons or the Hildebrand Foundation for over 15 years.

  • The Mather School, Dorchester

    Weekly, every Wednesday

    Faculty Sponsors: Jennie Skeele, Kim Giangrasso

    Club Leaders: Kinne Chapin, Natasha Terhorst, Melissa Tovin

    Winsor students tutor children at the Mather Elementary School in a variety of subjects. They help children with specific course material and study skills, and gain important mentoring experience in the process. Winsor students have been volunteering at the school for over 15 years.

  • Mount Pleasant Home

    Weekly, Every Monday

    Faculty Sponsor (Fall): Sally Murphy

    Faculty Sponsor (Spring): Patty Varela

    Club Leader: Natasha Garrity-Gordon

    Students visit with the residents of Mount Pleasant Home every Monday afternoon to chat and celebrate birthdays and holidays. Students also help residents take walks and chart their exercise progress. This program is an outgrowth of the Winsor Class V community service retreat. The Class V students who volunteer at Mount Pleasant Home during the retreat often want to return and build on their friendships with the residents. This is the third year of the Mount Pleasant program.

  • Single Parent Family Outreach, Roxbury

    Monthly, First Saturday of every month

    Faculty Sponsors: Robin Ryan, Clarissa Marshall

    Club Leaders: Safa Osmani, Megi Cavo

    At Single Parent Family Outreach, students work with young children while their parents attend classes. The students play games, read, and entertain children with activities provided by the program. Since the children get to know volunteers, Winsor students commit to attending regularly. Students have been volunteering with this program for eight years.

Community Service Upper School

Ongoing Short-Term Annual Initiatives

  • Used Clothing Sale/Fundraiser

    The Upper School community service club’s main fundraiser of the year is a used clothing sale, where the club collects donations from students and faculty and sells them over a two to three day period. The students sort the clothes, price them, and manage all the logistics. The money is usually given to a charity of the club’s choice. Last year the money was used to purchase computers for students at our Sister School in Jammu/Kashmir, India.