George School students are required to do a service project (totaling sixty-five hours) any time after completing their sophomore year.

Spring 2012

France
Started in 1957, this relationship represents the longest running student exchange program between a US and a French high school. George School students work as teachers’ assistants in a variety of educational settings and live with local host families. A trip to Paris is one of the highlights. Students also join their host families for local sightseeing. French students, in turn, visit George School several weeks later.

Mississippi
Students work with Habitat for Humanity helping to build affordable houses along with those who lack adequate shelter in Northern Mississippi. The group also enjoys potluck dinners with current and future Habitat homeowners and other members of the community. Students build relationships with the community as they build homes. There also are opportunities to explore local sites of interest in northern Mississippi.

Nicaragua 
Students work as teachers’ assistants in our sister school in Barrio Riguero, a working-class Managua neighborhood. Other service opportunities may include repairing and upgrading schools and health clinics in impoverished areas. Students stay with host families who speak very little or no English. Cultural excursions typically involve visits to artisan markets, and historic sites, as well as the lakes and volcanoes for which Nicaragua is known.

South Africa 
The South Africa service project immerses students in a cross cultural exchange with families from different communities in Capetown. Students will volunteer at an elementary and middle school during the day and assist at an orphanage in the afternoon. The orientation will include a review of the U.S. civil rights movement and conclude with an intense study of civil rights and apartheid in South Africa. Students will end their service by visiting the apartheid museum in Johannesburg.

Washington DC
Students volunteer at Martha’s Table, SOME (So Others Might Eat), DC Central Kitchen, and a local mission. Using Hostelling International as home base, students will have the opportunity to visit museums and explore our nation’s capital.

Summer 2012

Arizona
Students work as teachers’ aides in the Kayenta Primary School, helping at-risk elementary age children. Homestays with local families provide the opportunity to experience the daily life and culture on a Navajo Reservation. After-school activities for George School students might include horseback riding through Monument Valley, camping out on the Black Mesa, or rafting down the Colorado River.

Cuba
In summer 2012—on the thirtieth anniversary of George School’s first visit to Quaker communities in eastern Cuba—George School students will help in the major reconstruction of a church in Holguin. Plans also include working in an urban hydroponic garden and visiting a community orphanage and a school for the blind and deaf. We also expect to visit the city of Santiago, the Quaker community in Gibara, the historic town of Bayamo, and the beach at Guardalavaca.

New Orleans
Students work for the Beacon of Hope organization, reinforcing their efforts to clean up New Orleans neighborhoods devastated by Hurricane Katrina. As they work and interact with local residents still struggling to rebuild their communities, students hear first-hand accounts of the devastation of Katrina. Excursions allow the students to experience the area’s rich history, culture, and cuisine by visiting Tulane University and exploring the French Quarter. 


Parent permission forms are due by Tuesday, September 20, 2011.

Hard copies of student essays and applications are due by Monday, October 3, 2011 at 4:00 p.m.