Students from The Episcopal School of Dallas were eager to get a jump on their service learning projects interacted with more than 20 non-profit organizations at this year’s annual Volunteer Fair in the Hart Athletic Center on Thursday, April 16. During the event, Middle and Upper School students rotated around tables to learn about the volunteer opportunities available to them through the different organizations.

This year’s participants included: AIDS Arms, Brother Bill’s Helping Hand, Captain Hope’s Kids, Community Partners of Dallas, Dallas Arboretum, Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity, Dallas Children’s Theater, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Public Library, Genesis Women’s Shelter, Goodwill Industries of Dallas, Hunger Busters, Jubilee Park and Community Center, Mi Escuelita, North Dallas Shared Ministries, Operation Kindness, Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Project Transformation, Ronald McDonald House, St. Philip’s School and Community Center, Special Olympics Texas, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, The Gathering, VNA Meals on Wheels, Voice of Hope Ministries, and Wesley Rankin Community Center.

Service to others is a Founding Tenet of ESD and every grade level has a community service requirement. Lower and Middle School students participate in age-appropriate projects with their classes. Upper School students, who must complete predetermined number of hours to graduate, are free to volunteer with organizations and causes interesting to them.

This year, more than 280 Upper School students were awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award for completing a minimum of 100 individual community service hours in a 12-month period. Of the 61 graduating seniors who received this honor, 53 percent of them have received the award for four consecutive years. In the other grades, 75 juniors, 78 sophomores, and 74 freshmen were acknowledged for their community service commitments.