Community Service

Community service is an important part of the learning environment at Cistercian. All projects are selected by students elected to the Community Service Council. We tend to focus on projects involving the corporal works of mercy (like providing food and clothing or visiting the sick), local mentoring and tutoring, pro-life activities, solidarity (like our Down Syndrome Dance), and stewardship of our resources and environment.

Students can track all their service hours using MobileServe.

Ultimately, all initiatives of the Community Service Council aim first and foremost to promote our freedom as students, faculty and staff to “run on the path of God’s commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love” (Prologue of the Rule of St. Benedict). So, while students are strongly encouraged to serve and to track all their service hours, there is no service requirement to graduate from Cistercian.

Community Service Representatives

The Community Service Council is composed of ten representatives: two from Form V and Form VI, and three from Form VII and Form VIII. A representative is primarily responsible for discovering service opportunities, finding volunteers among his classmates, informing them about the activities of the Council, and reporting back to the Council about their ideas. In addition, he can communicate with different clubs at Cistercian (e.g. Pro-Life Club, Student Council) to support their service activities.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service

Cistercian celebrates Martin Luther King Day by participating in the MLK Day of Service promoted by the Corporation for National & Community Service. Every year on Martin Luther King Day we cancel class and head out as students, teachers and staff to serve together at various places in our area.

James M. Collins Service Award

“The James M. Collins Service Award is given at the end of the year to the one junior who has most promoted the spirit of community service among Cistercian students.” (Parent/Student Handbook).

President’s Volunteer Service Award

Like other students in the country, Cistercian students are eligible to apply for the Bronze, Silver and Gold President’s Volunteer Service Award.

Fundraisers

Cistercian would like to be attentive to the number of times it asks the community for donations. Solicitations through Friday Notes are reserved for school-sponsored clubs and programs. If a fundraiser is advertised through Friday Notes, it should therefore be one that has been proposed to the community service council and adopted by the council or its faculty sponsors. The council is likely to reserve its endorsement for those projects that are managed by the students themselves (rather than by their parents or other relations). This will allow Cistercian to concentrate its efforts on service projects that offer a direct impact on the formation of the students and to avoid over-soliciting the community.