"We prepare students to engage in the world that is and to help bring about a world that ought to be."
Student Life

Community Engagement

Community Engagement at Friends

At Friends Seminary, a deep commitment to community engagement, stewardship, and service is woven throughout the School. From our youngest learners to alumni, families, faculty, and staff, members of our community seek not only to serve, but also to learn from and respond to social injustice and community needs with thoughtfulness and purpose.

Through partnerships rooted in reciprocity, students gain critical understanding of social issues—locally, nationally, and globally—through listening, observation, dialogue, and action. Our goal is to cultivate knowledgeable, compassionate changemakers who engage with the world responsibly and collaboratively.

Upper School Service Reqirement

Service has been a core value at Friends Seminary since its founding. Upper School students are expected to complete 25 hours of service each year through a range of meaningful experiences. This expectation incorporates school service, service learning, civic engagement, guided student reflection as well as formal opportunities for learning about pressing social and environmental issues. Service Learning is also embedded in some Upper School courses, which may offer hours toward the annual service requirement.

Community Engagement in Each Division

List of 3 frequently asked questions.

  • Lower School

    Service in the Lower School is integrated into both classroom activities and school-wide events like the All-School Day of Service. Older students often collaborate with younger peers to support and extend these efforts. A hallmark project is the First Grade Post Office, where students raise funds by running a schoolwide mail delivery service. They then meet with Upper School Service Committee members, learn about nonprofit organizations, and use Quaker process to decide how to allocate the funds.

  • Middle School

    Middle School students engage in service throughout the year, including during the annual All-School Day of Service and through advisory-based service learning projects. These projects introduce students to social justice topics and guide them through developing action-oriented responses—helping students connect their values to real-world impact.

  • Upper School

    To help Upper School students complete their required 25 hours of service each year, the Center for Peace, Equity and Justice (CPEJ) shares regular opportunities through its online Community Engagement Newsletter. In addition, the School’s Specialist for Community Engagement works with students individually to connect them with organizations aligned with their interests—locally and globally.

    One example of civic engagement in action is the annual student lobbying trip to Washington, D.C., where participants use Quaker process to reach consensus on an issue and then advocate for change with congressional offices. Click here to see a story on a recent lobbying trip.

Collaboration with the Parents Association

The Parents Association (PA) plays an active role in promoting community service through family-friendly volunteer events. These include collaborations with local organizations such as Grassroots Grocery and God’s Love We Deliver.

One of Friends Seminary’s longest-standing service traditions is the creation of holiday bags for God’s Love We Deliver. Initiated by beloved art teacher John Jones in 1990, this project began in a single classroom and has since grown into a schoolwide effort that produces more than 1,000 holiday bags each year.

Annual Events

A number of Community Engagement events occur annualy, offering opportunites for members of the Friends Seminary community to particpate in a variety of way. The list below offers just a sampling of events that happen throughout the year.

September
  • Making a Difference from Day 1: Grade 9 students and families service event
October
  • Fall Family Day of Service: Annual family service event in collaboration with the Parents Association
  • Thanksgiving Food Drive supporting New York Common Pantry
November
  • God's Love We Deliver Bag Decorating
  • God's Love We Deliver Race to Deliver
December
  • Coat Drive
  • Kint-a-thon  
January
  • Food for Friends: Pack meals for local organizations
February-March
  • Project Cicero: Citywide book drive 
April
  • All-School Day of Service: All students, K-12 participate in service events either on campus or throughout the five boroughs
  • Earth Week

Contact

Kara Kutner
Director of the Center for Peace, Equity & Justice
(646) 979-5103

Annah Heckman
CPEJ Specialist for Community Engagement
(646) 979-5106

Service Day: Jamaica Bay Beach Cleanup

Service Day: AFYA Medical Supplies Sorting

Fall Family Day of Service

Making a Difference from Day 1

Friends Seminary actively promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in all its programs and operations, including admissions, financial aid, hiring, and all facets of the educational experience. To form a community which strives to reflect the world’s diversity, we do not discriminate on the basis of race or color, religion, nationality, ethnicity, economic background, physical ability, sex, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation. Friends Seminary is an equal opportunity employer.
FRIENDS SEMINARY
222 East 16th Street
New York, NY 10003
P: 212-979-5030
F: 212.979.5034
Friends Seminary — the oldest continuously operated, coeducational school in NYC — serves college-bound day students in Kindergarten-Grade 12.