Inspired by George School’s tradition of global service, two George School parents in China have created a new foundation that will help support George School-sponsored service trips in their country.

Qi Gao, father of Tony Gao ’10, and Gang Ren, father of Xinxing Ren ’11, have established The Sino-U.S. Cultural Communication George School Foundation to promote mutual respect and understanding between those of different cultures and social backgrounds in the United States and China.

“We appreciate all the opportunities George School gave to Tony and to the whole family,” said Qi Gao on behalf of himself and his wife, Nannan Xia. “As parents, we want to become a giving model for our son, so that he can learn to give back to people who help him.”

For an initial period of four years, The Sino-U.S. Cultural Communication George School Foundation will provide annual financial aid equivalent to $35,000, to be spent in China by participants in international service learning experiences organized by George School.

The financial aid will be used towards expenses such as international and domestic travel, accommodations in China, meals, excursions, and other appropriate costs associated with the service projects. The memorandum states that George School will arrange a service learning trip to China for each of the next four years, through either its Global Service Program or its Chinese language classes.

“We are deeply grateful to Qi Gao and Gang Ren for their support. It is inspiring to see that George School’s commitment to service has had such resonance for them,” said Head of School Nancy Starmer. “Qi Gao and Gang Ren believe, as George School does, that international service fosters understanding, inclusiveness, and global perspectives among people from different backgrounds. Trip participants travel to work alongside people whose ways of life are significantly different from their own, contributing to projects that address real human needs. It is exciting that George School and our community of parents in China are coming together around this shared interest.”

Nancy and George School Committee Clerk David Bruton traveled to Shanghai, China, in June, where they signed a memorandum of understanding between George School and the foundation. Qi Gao and Gang Ren, who will serve as the foundation’s co-chairs, also signed the document. The signing took place at the Shanghai Hong Qiao State Guest Hotel during a gathering of the George School China Parent Association, of which Qi Gao is president. Nearly one hundred George School parents and students were present, along with Director of Development Joanna Storrar, Finance Committee Clerk Andy Steginsky, and Director of College Guidance Nancy Culleton.

With over sixty years of experience leading international service trips in more than fifteen countries as part of the service curriculum for its own students, George School conducted its first service trip to China in 2009 through the Global Service Program, an educational training program that brings together teachers and students from a variety of secondary schools to participate in international service projects. George School was awarded an Educational Leadership Grant from the Edward E. Ford Foundation to create the Global Service Program, which organized a trip to China again this year. Members of both China trips traveled to the Sichuan Province to help rebuild Zhongba, a rural village that was significantly affected by a 2008 earthquake.

“It is my hope that through international service learning experiences, participants will be affected by the very real and serious issues that face communities around the world,” said Pauline McKean, director of the Global Service Program. “Some may benefit merely by having a deeper understanding and greater empathy, and others will feel compelled to help in some way. Qi Gao and Gang Ren have felt this compulsion, and their support of George School’s trips will make it possible for even more students and teachers to have profound experiences through international service.”

The school was able to establish the trips to China through a collaboration with two Chinese families. Tony Gao ’10 and Isabella Zhang ’10 had earlier traveled to Zhongba with the support of their parents to help rebuild the village, delivering funds and supplies that they had collected from the George School community. The Gao family, Isabella, and her parents, Jian Zhang and Min Shi, later approached George School about involving faculty and staff in their efforts. Once the Global Service Program was established, Tony and Isabella volunteered their own time to guide the faculty leaders of both China trips as they ventured into the remote Zhongba village.

Under the terms of the memorandum, the new foundation could support future service trips that are run through George School’s Chinese language classes, rather than the Global Service Program. Trips organized by the Language Department would be part of George School’s service curriculum for its own students, a program that requires each student to complete sixty-five hours of service through school-sponsored local projects, domestic and international trips, or independent projects before graduating.

George School has not yet conducted a service trip to China through the language program, but the current service trips for George School students include opportunities with French and Spanish language immersion. George School added Chinese to its curriculum three years ago. The school now offers four classes in the language—Chinese 1, 2, and 3; and International Baccalaureate (IB) Chinese 4—taught by award-winning scholar, poet, and teacher Ning Yuan Yu.

The first trip to be supported by The Sino-U.S. Cultural Communication George School Foundation will take place in 2011. During the four-year period of the agreement, George School and the foundation will make a decision each September regarding the destination and purpose of the following year’s trip to China. At the end of the four years, the school and the foundation will review their progress and, if appropriate, extend the agreement for up to an additional six years.