The Latin Parent Association held its first-ever Service Fair on April 25 in the Field Gym. Alongside Director of Student Life Tim Cronister and the Student Service Learning Board, the PA hosted a variety of philanthropic organizations, charities, and service projects. While it was the PA’s first fair, the Upper School has hosted Service Fairs in the past.

This Service Fair ran similarly to the Clubs Fair. Organizations set up tables in the gym, where ninth through 11th graders and their families, who attended the fair before the students, explored service opportunities and signed up to work with the organizations.

The main difference in setup was that each community partner spoke to the Upper School as a whole about what kind of work they do. These opportunities ranged from working with homeless shelters to tutoring to environmental stewardship.

Sixteen organizations, as well as some Upper School Clubs offering such opportunities, participated in the Service Fair. Some were geared towards helping communities as close to Latin as Lincoln Park—like the Lincoln Park Conservancy—whereas others offer support worldwide—like Sparkventures, which has partners in Zambia, Mexico, and Nicaragua.

Latin’s Student Service Learning Board worked alongside Mr. Cronister to bring in these organizations. Some students ran tables for community partners they already work with.

This event marks the return of the pre-COVID annual Service Fair, initially run by Latin’s former Service Coordinator Sarah Bunger. Due to Ms. Bunger’s departure from Latin in 2017, and also because COVID restricted opportunities for off-campus volunteering, the fair took an eight-year hiatus. “I've always wanted to do it,” Mr. Cronister said. “It’s just a huge undertaking. Without the Parent Association, I don't think I could have done it this year.” In addition to reviving the fair, the PA expanded it from student-oriented to family-oriented.

To accomplish this dual-oriented nature, the Service Fair had two components: It was open to Latin’s adults—including parents, guardians, faculty, staff, and alumni—during the first half, and to Upper School students during the second half. Latin adults were able to attend from 8:45 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., while students participated from 9:35 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.. Megan Hodes, who runs Community Service for the PA, said, “[Families were] able themselves to talk with each of the different community partners and glean from them what their missions are, and then how they could get involved as families and volunteer with them, or support them, or whatever it may be.”

This emphasis on doing service as a family is largely due to the efforts of Ms. Hodes. While Mr. Cronister focuses on the student side of community service, she organizes parent engagement. “We, as a Latin community, want to very holistically look at giving back to the community that we live in as a whole, and that's bigger than just the Latin student,” she said. “That is the Latin family.”

Some students already volunteer with their families, but for students not yet associated with a service organization, the fair was a perfect opportunity to get involved. Despite many students’ preoccupation with sports and schoolwork, it isn’t so hard to find time for service. Junior Aidyn Jones, a Co-Head of SSLB, said, “I think service is something that doesn't take very much to be able to get involved with.”

Mr. Cronister reiterated that sentiment. Currently, the Upper School requires that every student do eight hours of community service. However, he wants to move away from the mindset of simply getting your hours done and focus instead on genuinely engaging with service. “That excitement, where people are engaged with [community service] and empowered by it, is really my goal,” he said.

Providing ample community engagement opportunities is key to achieving this goal. “[Community service] has ramped up significantly in the past few years,” Ms. Hodes said. “It's always been something important, kind of a key component of the curriculum.” While the Upper School has not increased its required service hours, it has provided more opportunities to engage in service.

Mr. Cronister expanded on this idea, sharing his broader view of service at Latin. “You want to educate people about what's going on,” he said. “You want them to do some things to help change the world, and then you want them to reflect upon it. Latin’s mission statement of helping kids find their individual passions, that comes out so much in service.”