One of the hats I have worn for the past 13 years is Head of the Community Service Program at Thacher.  I enjoy the work because it allows me to form strong bonds with members of the Ojai community, to interact with students of all grade levels (many of whom I don’t teach), and to facilitate the involvement of many Thacher students in activities they enjoy.  This year I have the privilege of working with three fantastic — motivated, committed, and involved — senior girls who are my student Heads:  Leah, Annie, and Olivia.  Each brings a different skill set and area of interest to the group, and the combination is efficient and effective.

Thus far this year, they have led dorm meetings with the 9th and 10th graders to introduce them to the programs we offer, made two announcements to encourage the involvement of their peers, and met with me for several hours planning weekend activities for the coming months.  So far, the calendar is quite full:  assisting at the Monica Ros Fiesta (an annual fundraising carnival at a local school);  gleaning fruit from campus trees to provide to a local food bank; helping with clean-up at a celebration in Libbey Park in Ojai where they will show the acclaimed documentary 20 Feet from Stardom;  participating in a walk in Santa Barbara to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s and in the  L.A.’s Aids Walk; and joining special needs young people at the beach for a day of surfing and paddle boarding in Ventura with the Best Day Foundation.  And, that only gets us to Oct. 19!

Then there’s the whole other, more predictable side of our programming — the programs that we schedule during the week.  This year we have added a new program to our “CommServe buffet”: the Ojai Turtle Sanctuary.  This provides Thacher students a unique opportunity to do some meaningful work at this unique Ojai establishment that houses over 900 turtles from all over the world. So far, six students have signed-up to visit the Sanctuary for an hour each week, and there are more rolling in.  To do this (or to participate in any of our other weekday options), students sacrifice two free periods (which, in the Thacher world, are highly guarded and much prized), jump in a Suburban, and head to town to do their service.

Other venues include elementary and pre-school, a daycare center for senior citizens, a pre-school program for special needs infants and toddlers, the Ventura Humane Society, and the Rescue Dog Foundation.  For the budding farmers in our midst, we are currently looking into partnering with one of Ojai’s organic farms.  So far, we have over twenty students signed-up for daytime service, and the evening groups (which visit residents in local retirement homes) are bursting at the seams.

So, yes, we’re off and running (or, perhaps more precisely, off and walking — for a cause), always keeping our eyes on the goal of helping others and establishing bonds with the world beyond the Thacher gates.