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Community Service

Rumsey Hall’s mission emphasizes educating its students to become contributing members of a community. Through hands-on experience, students develop interpersonal life skills while positively impacting the people and organizations they help. The Community Service/Service Learning program also acts to enrich a sense of awareness, compassion and self-efficacy in the Rumsey Hall students.

Biannual ‘Hour of Service’ afternoons, Red Hand Day, food drives and the Holiday Hope Chest drive are a few examples of the School’s commitment to educating students about the world they live in. Community Service opportunities are a standard offering scheduled into weekend activities for day and boarding students. They may also be part of the academic day in the form of a student-driven project, an athletic team-building workshop or a school-wide activity. The Community Service Program is driven solely by interest as there is no requirement of service hours to graduate. Annually, the program logs over 1,000 hours, completed by 75% of the student body. Students volunteer with a wide variety of organizations that are local, and also those at the state and national levels.

Community Service becomes Service Learning in the classroom through the VIIth Form elective, Challenge 20/20 which meets twice a week throughout the School Year. Students work through team-building activities that center on defining community and the responsibilities of citizenship. Additionally, the group studies the twenty critical global problems identified by the Global Issues Network. Students examine their own passions and interests to bring their focus on local solutions to a select group of issues. Through various frameworks, students learn methodologies and approachable tasks that stem from broad topics. Students engage with a portion of the administration, faculty and staff to arrive at manageable action plans for implementing their solutions on our campus and within our surrounding communities.

Service Learning at the Heart of Rumsey

Rumsey Hall Food Drive
Rumsey Hall Food Drive

Our commitment to community service shines brightly each year during our annual food drive in support of the Washington-Warren Food Bank. Donations garnered through the school's food drive directly impact local families in need, providing sustenance and warmth, not only during the holiday season but also throughout the year.


Hosts and Events

  • Brandywine Assisted Living
  • Flanders Nature Center
  • Gunn Memorial Library
  • Judea Garden Project
  • MANNA House Soup Kitchen
  • Special Olympics
  • H.O.R.S.E. of CT
  • Save the Sound
  • Kent Land Trust
  • Food Bank
  • Steep Rock Association
  • ALS Memorial Run
  • Breast Cancer Awareness Walk
  • Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk
  • Multiple Sclerosis Walk, Litchfield, CT