Community Service

Community Service at Calvary

Community Service has been a trademark and source of pride at Calvary Christian School and is an integral part of the school’s mission. Scripture tells us in 1 John 3:18 "Dear children, let us not love with words or speech alone, but with actions..." and we seek to put that charge into practice at Calvary. We strategically partner with individual ministry organizations to assist in their efforts to bless others. Our goal for the Community Service Program is to reach out to the world and show God’s incredible love for His creation by building intimate relationships with these worthy organizations and developing true hearts for service in every Calvary child.

To meet our mission, Calvary has developed an in-depth Community Service Program for all children in preschool through eighth grade. During their years at Calvary, students will partner with a variety of different ministry organizations and experience a breadth of service opportunities. We believe that working with a variety of ministry opportunities develops compassion in our students by exposing them to the abundance of need in our world.

We know that when young people take on community service projects they benefit greatly from their volunteer work, gaining memorable experiences and building strong and admirable character traits. Through the students’ community service work, they are given the opportunity to see life from a cross section of perspectives, giving them a sense of humility and gratitude for their own lives. At Calvary, we inspire our children and families to view service not as an event, but as a way of life.

How We Serve

Here are a few of the many ways in which we serve:

We pray regularly for each organization.
We communicate with a contact person in the organization to identify prayer requests and tangible needs that we can meet.
We gather supplies and distribute them to those in need through our partner organizations.
We visit the organizations and complete service projects.
We write cards of encouragement to people on the front lines of these ministries.
We maintain a bulletin board in each classroom that highlights events and activities related to the ministry.
We raise funds to further assist in the services these organizations provide.

Who We Serve

List of 12 items.

School-wide Service Organization

Soldiers Angels - Supporting Our Soldiers
Our students will once again give back to those soldiers who have given up so much for our country. Our students will write letters of support and encouragement to active soldiers. Gift cards and other treats will be shipped with the letters in care packages through our partnership with the Los Angeles Police Department.
Preschool, Transitional Kindergarten and Kindergarten

Samaritan’s Purse: Operation Christmas Child - Showing God’s Love Through Our Actions
In the fall, students will assemble gift boxes for Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child which go to our global neighbors. Then in the spring, TK and Kindergarten students will host a lunch for Calvary’s Facilities Staff to show our appreciation for all of their hard work and to spend time getting to know them more.
First Grade

LA Dream Center and The Gentle Barn - Loving Other People and God’s Creatures
In the fall, students will be asked to bring in 1-2 of their favorite books to give to another child. Books from the Preschool Book Drive will be bundled together with these favorite books, along with handmade bookmarks and library card applications. They will be given to children who attend the LA Dream Centers “Adopt-A-Block” program that reaches under-resourced neighborhoods around LA. In the Spring, students will travel to the Gentle Barn which is an animal sanctuary that teaches students about having reverence for animals and how to show love, compassion and care for God’s creatures.
Second Grade

Compassion International & School On Wheels- Nurturing of Under-resourced Populations
Students in 2nd Grade will have the opportunity to learn about local and global children who live in under-resourced areas and the ways that they can walk alongside them. Each 2nd grade class will have one Compassion International child sponsorship that their class supports as a group. Students will connect with their child through writing letters, praying for their child as a class, and collecting money to provide assistance for buying food, school supplies, medical care, and mentoring in a safe environment through a local church. Teachers will incorporate learning about the region in their classroom curriculum. School on Wheels is an organization that provides free tutoring and mentoring to children in K-12th grade living in shelters, motels, vehicles, group foster homes, and the streets of LA. 2nd grade students will collect school supplies to fill backpacks to give to students in the School on Wheels program and connect with students in the program over video calls and letter writing.
Third Grade

WISE & Healthy Aging - Visiting with Seniors
WISE and Healthy Aging is a not for profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives and promoting the well-being, independence, self-esteem, and education of senior citizens. In the Fall, students will go to the Wise & Healthy Aging facility to sing Christmas songs, play Bingo, and enjoy a treat together. Then in the Spring, students will host our senior neighbors on campus for a time of fellowship through interviewing their guests, performing their songs from their Performing Arts Spring Show, and playing bingo.
Fourth Grade

Westside Food Bank and Children's Hunger Fund - Understanding God’s Love for The Under-resourced
In the fall, students lead the promotion on campus for the school’s annual Turkey Drive to benefit the Westside Food Bank, then they will go to the food bank to sort and pack food to be distributed to local families in need.

In the spring, students will go to Children’s Hunger Fund where they will experience their new “Poverty Encounter” which is a guided exhibit tour with hands-on service activities exploring the realities of poverty through stories of real children and families with the goal to understand God’s love for all people and how they can share His love with others.
Fifth Grade

Inclusion Matters - Including People with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities
Students will travel to Rocket’s Universe, a playground designed by Inclusion Matters that allows for adaptive play, and meet students from a school who has students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Students will play and eat lunch together. Before the field trips students will hold education days on campus on the topic of inclusion, and after the field trips there will be a debriefing day to talk about the experience, and how to help other people be aware of this cause.
Sixth Grade

Upward Bound and Together We Rise - Supporting Foster Youth and Unhoused Families
Students will serve our neighbors experiencing homelessness by volunteering at Upward Bound House in Santa Monica. This organization provides unhoused families with housing and supportive services to suit their specific needs. Students will bring supplies to make hygiene kits for residents, learn about food insecurity, and also work in their "Urban Farm Project" which is a productive farm that plays a vital role in reducing food insecurity in the unhoused community.

Students will also have the opportunity to work together to build skateboards to donate to a neighborhood foster agency through Together We Rise’s Build a Board program. Skateboards help with transportation and also with building confidence and gives children in foster care an item that is uniquely theirs when their belongings can sometimes change if they change homes.
Seventh Grade

Union Rescue Mission and Ventura County Rescue Mission - Loving Our Neighbors Who Are Experiencing Homelessness
Ventura County Rescue Mission and Union Rescue Mission are Christian based nonprofit organization’s that help restore lives through providing programs that help with counseling, biblical mentorship, housing, classes and meals. Students will travel to these missions and bring food they prepared to serve as lunch for the day, give out hygiene kits they have assembled, and interact with residents during their time there.
Eighth Grade

Operation Gratitude & Operation Mend - Showing Gratitude to U.S. Active and Retired Soldiers
8th Grade students will go to Operation Gratitude which is a non-profit that sends care packages to deployed military personnel. While at Operation Gratitude, students will be preparing kits for packages, making paracord “survival” bracelets, making Battalion Buddies (stuffed animals), and assembling New Recruit Thank You Envelopes. 8th graders will also go to Operation Mend which provides free advanced surgical and medical treatment for post-9/11-era warriors injured during combat operations or while training for service, as well as comprehensive psychological healthcare and social support for both wounded warriors and their family members.
Sixth - Eighth Grade

Casa Hogar Sion Orphanage - Showing Love to Orphans
Each Christmas our 6th, 7th and 8th Grade students support Casa Hogar Sion, an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico, by purchasing gifts for a child or caretaker at the orphanage. Middle school students will also host a gently-used clothing drive to donate to the children or caretakers at the orphanage. Calvary has had a meaningful relationship with Casa Hogar Sion which has been nurtured for the past 16 years. Typically, our 8th Grade students are invited to visit the orphanage and hand-deliver the gifts, and to meet and spend time with the residents of Casa Hogar Sion. Hopefully we will be able to do it again this year!
Optional Family Service Opportunities

Olive Crest - The Giving Tree: Gifts For Foster Children
We each have the opportunity to bring holiday joy to a child in institutional care. At Calvary’s Annual Christmas Boutique, look for information to purchase an ornament on the Giving Tree. Each ornament represents a child that you can add to a special place on your Christmas shopping list.