Community Outreach
I remember being a volunteer on the call line of a women's shelter and that was one of the first experiences that I had with folks who were survivors of domestic violence … I also did Camp Ramleh, and that was really incredible too. That time for me at SG solidified that I really wanted to spend my life helping people.
SANDY RESTREPO ’01, NOW AN IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY OUTSIDE SEATTLE
St. George’s has a long and rich tradition of service to our local community. Each year, as part of our Ramleh Service Program, every student experiences the value and joy of helping those less fortunate, stewarding our local environment, and sharing their time and talents to enrich the lives of others.
A commitment to serving others is, in fact, part of our founding mission, written in 1896 by the Rev. John Byron Diman, who stated that one of his greatest wishes was that after graduation St. George’s students would “lead lives of constructive service to the world and to God.”
At St. George’s, community service takes on many forms — from volunteering for the annual Feed-a-Friend Food Drive before Thanksgiving to helping local children with their homework at the local Boys and Girls Club. Students may opt to spend their afternoons performing community service, athletic teams take turns cleaning up our local beaches, and throughout the year our students raise thousands of dollars for causes close to their hearts by organizing “Dress-Down Days,” when, for a small donation, students are allowed to be out of dress code for classes.
On St. George’s annual Day of Engagement in April, classes are put on hold while all members of our community participate in a service activity either on or off campus.
The Ramleh Service Program takes its name from Camp Ramleh, a summer camp for underprivileged children from Aquidneck Island founded by former Headmaster William A. Buell, St. George’s Class of 1914, in 1926. The spirit of that program lives on today in the many ways St. George’s students continue to serve others, including raising money for our Ramleh Camp Scholarship program, which has offered disadvantaged local youth a nature-focused, free summer-camp experience outside the city each year for more than 90 years.