In a school as steeped in traditions as Thacher, it’s a rare occurrence to be part of any event that hasn’t been going on for years, decades, and, in some cases like Gymkhanas, even a century.

So, having the chance to participate (and organize) today’s first ever Thacher Community Service Day was quite a treat. The plans for the day started back in September, when the three student CommServe Heads (Jin Ah, Gracie, and Nu) and I got together to brainstorm ideas for how and when a day dedicated to community service would work.

We finally settled on date (April 13) after Winter Break; believe it or not, we weren’t able to find a

weekend without a major conflict from January to June. We then set to work contacting local venues to see if they could use a few helping hands.

The final list included: a beach trip to pick up trash (and splash in the surf); the Ventura Special Olympics Track and Field team; Food Share, a food distribution center that serves the elderly and homeless in Ventura County; Monica Ros School, the neighborhood pre-school (headed by riding instructor Susan Hardenbergh when she isn’t out on the Gymkhana Field with the 9th graders) ; a local organic farm, owned and operated by the owner of a local organic restaurant, The Farmer and the Cook; and, a trip to give manicures to some of Ojai’s elderly in Saint Joseph’s retirement home. And those were only the off-campus options.

A few groups stayed closer to home. Those options were:

•  Food Forward, a group that gleans fruit and vegetables from farms and orchards and distributes it to organizations serving those in need;
• a dedicated gardening group that spruced up the garden outside the Dining Hall;
• a trail crew that helped clear the brush on the Gymkhana Field and another bunch that painted the bleachers in preparation for our up-coming Big Gymkhana;
• an EAC-led group that did a “campus trash audit” — diving into our dumpsters to get an idea of what we’re throwing away and how we can reduce our waste;
• a PTS sponsored trip that hiked the trails behind the school replacing the bear-gnawed wooden trail markers with longer lasting metal signs.

All told, there were about 65 students involved — a high number given the fact that, between sports commitments and other responsibilities, only about 150 students would have been commitment-free.

I had the good fortune to accompany three students (Jin Ah, Nu, and Emma) and my daughter to the Ventura County Food Share. We arrived at around noon and, in just an hour and 45 minutes, we five (with a little help from Rob, the volunteer coordinator) had sorted and boxed over 2,000 lbs. of oranges.  All told, we boxed up 166 boxes containing roughly 31 oranges apiece (Emma counted!) that will be distributed to senior care centers around Ventura County.

 

It was easy, rewarding, and, a lot of fun. I am hopeful that this first CommServe Day sets a strong precedent for community participation for years to come. Newt Chase (one of the school’s first headmasters, the one after whom the Community Service Award is named) would have been proud.