Community Service

Community service is an integral part of a St. Anne’s-Belfield School education, with even our youngest students learning the value of being a part of a greater community and using their unique skills and talents to enrich the lives of others.

Throughout the School students, classes, clubs, and divisions raise funds and give of their time to a variety of causes and organizations around Charlottesville, the country, and even the world.

Each spring students and faculty participate in All-School Community Service Week, which sees Learning Village and Upper School students volunteering at nearby locations such as Bellair Farm and Camp Holiday Trail. During this week our freshman class leaves the area for our annual Doug’s Trip, a journey to an area of the country in need of assistance and where our students’ energy and empathy have a genuine impact.

Our commitment to community service also includes a graduation requirement of 15 community service hours per year for our Upper School students. In addition, cross-divisional events regularly offer opportunities for students of different ages and abilities to work together, and parents are invited to join in events throughout the year including Earth Day events, fundraising walks, and blood drives.

Lucia Hoerr '18 uses foundation of community service learned at school to found Backpack Buddies.

Divisional Highlights

Pre-School

Our Pre-School students have a variety of opportunities to engage in community service throughout the year. The Trike-A-Thon for St. Jude’s has been an annual fundraising event for many years, culminating with students participating in a sponsored “Tour de Trike” event. As of 2015, the Pre-School had raised more than $25,000 for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital over the years.

Learning Village Grades K - 4

Students in the Learning Village Grades K - 4 undertake a number of developmentally-appropriate community service projects throughout the school year. Each month an event takes place, and every day students are encouraged to look after their own community in small ways, such as by keeping the School clean and recycling when appropriate. Students in Grades K - 4 have also participated in and volunteered with:

Bellair Farm
Book Basket collections
Card campaigns for elderly residents in the area (Halloween, Valentine’s Day, etc.)
Food Bank collections
Habitat for Humanity
Jump Rope for Heart fundraisers
Kids for Kids
Letter campaign for men and women serving overseas
Toys for Tots Drive
Shoe Drive
Wacky Hair Day fundraiser

Learning Village Grades 5 - 8

Community service assists our grades five through eight students in developing an awareness of their responsibility to their School and local communities. Opportunities to participate in group service activities also broaden our students’ personal perspectives by encouraging them to identify and engage with groups in need. Students in Grades 5 - 8 have participated in and volunteered with:

Bellair Farm
Joining in Boys and Girls Club bike rallies
Knitting caps for the needy
Participating in weekly food collections for area food banks
The Angel Tree Christmas project
Providing supplies for Meals on Wheels
Sewing for Little Dresses for Africa
Raising money for cancer research, the SPCA , the Red Cross, and the Heifer project
Participating in an Alzheimer's walk
Mama’s Kitchen Club
Supporting Uragate School
Joining in Earth Day projects

Upper School

Our graduation requirements include 15 hours of community service per year for our Upper School students, but many easily surpass that standard through participating in club and School events and devising their own projects to help those in need. In the past students have worked in collaboration with the following groups on a variety of community service projects:

Bridges to Community
Cameras for Kids/Seven Little Wishes (art therapy for children)
Camp Holiday Trails
Charlottesville/Albemarle Area Food Bank
The Colonnades
Earlysville Fire Department
Martha Jefferson Junior Volunteer Program
Multiple Sclerosis Society
Jefferson Area Board for the Aging Club Pathway – Alzheimer’s
JoJo’s Hope (helping children with disabilities)
Operation Christmas Child (shoe boxes of toys)
Salvation Army
Shenandoah Valley Conservation Conference
Silver Lining Blood Drive
Special Olympics
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Virginia Institute of Autism