What can expand your perspectives and stretch you to learn more about yourself and others? Community Service Learning!

Upland strives to instill the value of meaningful service in our students, helping them to work with people across our community to make life better. The rewards of service are many, including new experiences, opportunities for growth, and the discovery of new talents.


Altruism at Upland

Upland often speaks and writes about the importance of balancing the 4 A’s: Academics, Athletics, Arts, and one other; our 4th A is generally said to be “Attitude,” but in many cases, it could also be “Altruism.” Several recent student projects highlight the ways an Upland education helps to instill the values of compassion and generosity.

Making CardsLast year’s 5th grade began a project that this year’s class is continuing. They are raising money that is then lent out as micro-loans to individuals or groups in developing countries around the world through the organization Kiva (kiva.org). Last year, they made and sold Valentine’s Day cards, raised $300, and used it for 8 different loans. As the money from those initial loans has been paid back, Upland has been able to make an additional 11 loans, for projects in Indonesia, Benin, Mexico, Viet Nam, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Mongolia, Kenya, Cambodia, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan. Over all, Kiva’s rate of repayment is 98.93%. This year’s class has expanded on the idea of selling cards to include handmade Christmas gift cards, available now, in addition to Valentine’s Day cards (which will be available later in the year). So far this year they have raised $112. If you are interested in purchasing some Christmas gift cards, stop in the 5th grade classroom or email Ms. Conner (kconner@uplandcds.org). You can also contribute directly to Kiva. If you invest as a member of the lending team “Upland Country Day School,” your loan will count towards the overall impact of Upland’s contributions. To join Upland’s lending team, first register with Kiva, then click on “Community” at the top of the registration page, search for Upland, and then click on “request to join” underneath the Upland logo. Let Ms. Conner know you have done so, so she can confirm your request.

Christmas Cards

The 3rd grade has also worked together on a service project. After learning about Curious George, a starving dog found near Boothwyn on Halloween, they decided to raise money to donate to the Delaware County SPCA to help pay for George’s food and veterinary treatment. SPCAGeorge weighed only 35 pounds when he was found, and he should have been about 60-70 pounds. The Delaware SPCA fed him a special diet every two hours, and a vet took blood samples daily to check on his organ functions. The 3rd graders’ bake sale raised $206 for George. A generous parent matched that amount, so the class was able to contribute $412 to the Delaware SPCA. They delivered the money in person, so they were able to visit the facility and see how the SPCA worked. The students visited the cat area and the dog area and learned how the animals are taken care of and how they go through the adoption process. Each 3rd grader received a special certificate from the SPCA to thank them for their efforts. Luckily, all the special care and food paid off, and George is now healthy. He has been adopted, and will go to his “forever home” on Dec. 13.

George
George, when found, weighed only 35 pounds.
George
A much healthier George now weighs 70 pounds.

Canned GoodsThe Upper School’s Student Council has a proud tradition of service to others as well. As in past years, this fall they promoted a very successful canned food drive for Thanksgiving. A total of 1,080 items were collected and given to the Kennett Food Cupboard. Upper School students helped to load the boxes of food into the Food Cupboard’s truck when they came to pick it all up. The Student Council’s current project is the Salvation Army’s “Stockings for Kids” program. Upland first participated in this program a number of years ago, when then science teacher Laura Robinson ran it as a 9th grade project. The following year, Student Council adopted the program, because so many more Upper Schoolers had been interested in contributing, and they didn’t want to limit it to the 9th grade. It then became a school-wide project.

Christmas TreeTo kick off the project this year, Student Council has decorated the big Christmas tree in the front of the Academic Center, and hung construction paper “ornaments” on it. Each ornament has a gift category written on it, such as “boy, age 1-3” or “girl age 0-1.” Families are encouraged to choose an ornament or two, pick up a stocking from under the tree, and fill it with gifts appropriate for the child described on the ornament. Then attach the ornament, and return the filled stocking to the box under the tree. Wednesday, Dec. 7 will be a Tag Day, and the money raised from that will be used to fill more stockings. In the past, Upland has collected from 150 to 200 filled stockings. With the strong sense of service to others and the generosity that is so obvious in Upland students of every grade, I’m sure we can meet or even exceed that number of stockings this year!


MLK, Jr. Service projects
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Tag Day
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During the winter of 2009-2010, two of Upland's students had the opportunity to be of service to others, and have shared their experiences with the School.
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2009
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Upland Adopts "Pennies for Peace" as a Year-long School-wide Community Service Initiative
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GI Pen pal visits 4th Grade
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Poppin' for Charity
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Upland Country Day School kids serve community on MLK Day of Service and all year
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