Category Archives: Service Learning

RTC: Community Field Work

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Last Thursday, Grade 7 girls left campus to work at Alemany Farm and volunteer with the nonprofits Glide and City Hope. At the end of the day each group participated in reflective work, which allowed students to process their profound experiences.

The day was designed to help our students inquire as they prepare for their Rise to the Challenge (RTC) capstone project work (taking place in May). For RTC, girls will strive to identify challenges they feel passionate about, then develop action plans to address those challenges, using their knowledge, resources, and collaborative talents. Students will have the opportunity to choose their own topics, do in-depth research, then share their findings, providing short and long-term solutions to various local and global problems.

These excursions allowed our girls to investigate issues facing our environment and learn more about the intricacies of urban poverty.

Supporting Homeless Families: Harvest 2020

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For many, many years, The Hamlin School has worked to support families experiencing homelessness in San Francisco through a profound partnership with Hamilton Families.

Hamlin’s connection to Hamilton dates back to the late 1990s when Hamlin’s Lend-A-Hand started partnering with the center. Lend-A-Hand is Hamlin’s dynamic Parents Association service learning program. It is open to all families and offers service opportunities with San Francisco organizations that focus on hunger, homelessness, and literacy.

Hamilton Families’ mission is to end family homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our pioneering homelessness prevention and housing subsidy programs are nationally recognized. In addition, we provide shelter and stability, and support the well-being of children experiencing homelessness.

Our largest event connected to Hamilton is our annual Harvest. This year numerous Hamlin students, parents, and faculty members prepared food for families currently experiencing homelessness. On Saturday (February 1), we made vegetable lasagnas, salads, garlic bread, and apple crisps. The following day a group of Hamlin Grade 8 students served the food at Hamilton Families. Altogether, Harvest provided nourishment for about 300 people.

The Saturday event took place between 8:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. and consisted of two work shifts. As part of the morning Rachel Kenemore (from Hamilton Families) addressed our volunteers.

Special thanks to faculty member Sheena Tart-Zelvin, and Hamlin parents Daisy Downs, Rachel Euretig, and Jennifer Lindh for helping to organize this wonderful event.

To learn more about Hamilton Families please visit: https://www.hamiltonfamilies.org/

Lava Mae Partnership 2020

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We are in our 5th year partnering with Lava Mae, a compassionate and altruistic nonprofit working to alleviate the suffering of individuals experiencing homelessness.

Lava Mae believes:

It’s about treating those who often feel invisible and dehumanized with an extraordinary level of respect and care to restore dignity, and unlock the opportunities that come with being clean.

All Grade 7 students will be volunteering with Lava Mae this year. Yesterday our first group of Hamlin girls worked at Lava Mae’s monthly Pop-Up Care Village near the Civic Center.

The event provides a one-stop-shop for employment services for people experiencing homelessness, from free job preparedness advice, to hygiene kits, adult education opportunities, clothes, health services, food, books, and haircuts.

Our students served food and distributed donated clothing at the “Street Store.” Two more student groups will be volunteering with Lava Mae in the coming months.

To learn more about Lava Mae, please visit: https://lavamaex.org/

Students Lead 2019 Book Drive

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Hamlin students and parents have been working diligently to collect thousands of books this November. Numerous books have already been generously donated by members of our community. Student volunteers sort and stack books during lunch with dedication and care. Students also organize the drive in terms of advertising and getting the word out. The book drive runs through November 22nd, so there is still time to donate so we can meet our goal of 3001 books!

This year books will be donated to:

-Hamilton Families

-Woodrow Wilson Elementary

-Boys and Girls Club of San Francisco

-Children’s Book Projects

-Local preschools

Bringing Altruism to San Francisco in Grade 7

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On Tuesday, Grade 7 students left campus to volunteer with the nonprofits Glide, Lava Mae, and City Hope. This was the final of three grade-wide service days partnering with multiple nonprofits. At the end of the day each group participated in reflective work which allowed students to process their profound experiences.

The day was designed to help our students explore as they prepare for their Rise to the Challenge (RTC) capstone project work (taking place in May). For RTC, girls will work to identify challenges they feel passionate about, then develop action plans to address those challenges, using their knowledge, resources, and collaborative talents. Students will have the opportunity to choose their own topics, do in-depth research, then share their findings, providing short and long-term solutions to various local and global problems.

Today’s work supported three organizations. Their missions are:

Glide:

Glide is a radically inclusive, just and loving community mobilized to alleviate suffering and break the cycles of poverty and marginalization.

Lava Mae: 

Lava Mae brings critical services to the streets- delivered with an unexpected level of care we call “Radical Hospitality”-where people experiencing homelessness need them most. 

City Hope:

Our mission is to empower our neighbors in the Tenderloin to establish stable, healthy lives. We provide a trusted gathering place and creatively offer as many elements of home as possible for our neighbors on the streets.

https://www.glide.org/

https://lavamae.org/

https://www.cityhopesf.org/

 

Lava Mae Visits Hamlin

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For the past two years, The Hamlin School has had a close partnership with the nonprofit Lava Mae.

Lava Mae brings critical services to the streets – delivered with an unexpected level of care we call Radical Hospitality™ – to rekindle dignity and hope for people experiencing homelessness through our Mobile Hygiene Service, Pop-Up Care Villages and buildIt toolkit.

Hamlin students have volunteered at Pop-Up Care Villages helping to distribute clothing and food to our unhoused San Francisco neighbors.

Jamie Ramirez and Kao Choua Vue from Lava Mae, visited with Grade 7 students yesterday. They shared videos, led students through simulations, and shared the following points (among others):

We deeply appreciate the warmth of Hamlin students who have volunteered with Lava Mae.

Lava Mae practices “Radical Hospitality,” a high level of care for our unhoused neighbors.

People on the streets rise to the level of care that they are given.

How you are treating people matters. Even just making eye contact and saying hello to someone makes a difference.

What if we all practiced “Radical Hospitality” to each other every day, what would our world be like?

To learn more about Lava Mae, please visit: https://lavamae.org/

 

 

Grade 1 Students Support “Project Night Night”

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Grade 1 students and their families have been leading the Lower School in collecting blankets, cuddly animals, books, and other supplies for the nonprofit, Project Night Night.

Project Night Night donates  over 25,000 Night Night Packages each year to homeless children 12 and under who need our childhood essentials to have a concrete and predictable source of security and an increased exposure to high-quality literacy materials during their time of upheaval. Each Night Night Package contains a new security blanket, an age- appropriate children’s book, and a stuffed animal — all nestled inside of a new canvas tote bag. By providing objects of reliable comfort, Project Night Night reduces trauma and advances the emotional and cognitive well-being of the children we serve.

Hamlin parent, Amy Morgan shares:

We have a class of thoughtful, caring girls that feel passionate about helping others. We thought this was a great way to come together as a first grade class to build community and help the community! 

Donated items were sorted last Friday and will be put in bags for delivery on March 15.

Special thanks to Hamlin parents Dalynn May and Amy Morgan for leading this altruistic work!

To learn more about Project Night Night, please visit: http://www.projectnightnight.org/