Embracing all the world's people with compassion.
Community Service
Community Service at MICDS is an all-School initiative with opportunities for service in all divisions, and we believe that students can and should serve toward the common good of the community. At MICDS, we focus on the model of service-learning with projects, often student-driven, tied to the curriculum. Athletic teams, student activities clubs, advisories, and entire grade levels frequently volunteer at non-profit organizations in the St. Louis area.
Service Projects
Turkey Train
Our annual Thanksgiving community service project is the largest provider of frozen turkeys to the St. Louis Area Food Bank each year, collecting more than 7,500 pounds of turkey and 3,000 pounds of non-perishable food—enough to provide more than 8,000 Thanksgiving Day meals.
Service Projects
Pennies for Peru
Since 2007, MICDS has held an annual collection for the Peruvian American Medical Society to help rebuild a medical clinic following an earthquake in Chincha, Peru, and subsequently, to purchase a dental x-ray machine and outfit its dental unit. MICDS students volunteer at the PAMS Clinic in Chincha through the MICDS Peru Service Learning Program.
Service Projects
Lower School Day of Caring and Kindness
Students rotate through various service-learning activities. Collectively, they create greeting cards for United Service Organizations (USO) at Lambert International Airport, make scarves for Loaves and Fishes, decorate kindness rocks, and read books about what it means to be grateful.
Service Projects
School Partnerships
MICDS has partnerships with various schools throughout the community. MICDS students from across divisions collect items, hold events, and form relationships with students from schools with predominantly low-income families
Service Projects
Coaches vs. Cancer
MICDS basketball coaches, players, and fans come together each year to support the American Cancer Society. Together, their efforts have resulted in raising more than $200,000 to fight cancer.
Service Projects
Service Travel
MICDS also leads various domestic and international service travel trips for students to places such as Peru, South Africa and Texas.
Service Projects
Student-Driven Drives & Collections
Students are invited to research issues, educate the community, and organize collections for various causes throughout the year.
Drives and Collections
Recent student-led collections include toiletry drives for the homeless, Halloween candy and costume collections for pediatric hospitals, bake sales for cancer research and victims of natural disasters, book drives for understocked school libraries in St. Louis, food drives for food pantries or families in need during the holidays, clothing drives, and more.
The Environmental Club also holds regular collections for everyday items, such as grocery bags, bottle caps, and aluminum cans to promote awareness of environmental issues.
Presidential Volunteer Service Award
Standing for what is good and right
Upper School students are invited to participate in the President's Volunteer Service Award Program, the premier volunteer awards program in the United States that encourages citizens to live a life of service through presidential gratitude and national recognition.
"Service not only teaches us the importance of giving back to this wonderful community we live in, but, more importantly, helps us discover our values and find out what in our life is most important and meaningful."
Palmer Mihalevich ’20MICDS Student and St. Louis Zoo Volunteer
