Wichita Collegiate School’s website says it is a school “committed to our community and to making it a better place, while also teaching care and concern for others on a daily basis. A culture of volunteerism is instilled within each division.”
In the Early Childhood Division of the school, students participate in a variety of service projects. These projects range from hosting bake sales to benefit a nursing home to collecting pet supplies later donated to the Kansas Humane Society. In the Lower School, each grade partners with a different organization in the area to help in an age-appropriate way. For example, first-grade students generally participate as pen pals with residents of a local senior center. Collegiate’s fourth grade council is responsible for identifying organizations in need and works to plan various activities and fundraisers to be of assistance to these places. In the Middle School, there is a specific elective course called “Values in Action” where students focus on character-building and community involvement. This particular class participates in various hands-on activities to see the impact they can have. Collegiate students are not mandated to obtain a community service requirement to graduate, however many students in their Upper School choose to participate in Pro-Humanitate, a school-sponsored club focused on giving back to benefit the community.
Rainbows has been the firsthand recipient of Wichita Collegiate School’s generosity and has been privileged to engage their service-driven students. In November of this year, over fifty 4th and 5th graders from Wichita Collegiate School visited Kids’ Point to read to Rainbows’ oldest childcare classes, ranging from 3 years old to pre-kindergarten age. These middle schoolers each chose to bring and read their favorite childhood book to the kids, and also personally brought one book to donate to Rainbows. And, this isn’t the first time!
In the Fall of 2015, a large group of Collegiate’s 5th graders, numbering close to 50, made their first visit to read to the children of Rainbows. They generously donated two fabulous bookcases that found a home at our Kids’ Cove location and donated many books that year as well. In addition to these donations, this group also went above and beyond by working with their music instructor to write an original song about reading which they sang to our classes during their visit.
