Campus Life

Community Service

Service is considered an integral part of the way we live in a decent and caring community, and involvement in service is one the School's highest priorities. Students are encouraged to participate in service activities throughout their time at The Hill, and the School supports students who wish to pursue their own service interests if they feel that there is a need that's not being met. The Hill School strives to ensure that each and every student has many occasions during their time here to put others first and to help to solve problems faced by the community, and we welcome suggestions for new ways the School can get involved.

Students may choose to spend up to two terms each year in daily afternoon service activities. If a student has a specific interest, we’ll do our best to accommodate that. Students will participate in three or four days of service each week and are also required to complete two one-hour fitness workouts each week. This program is available all three terms. Students benefit from the strong relationships the School has nurtured with many outstanding organizations in Pottstown and the surrounding region.

More recently, Hobart’s Run – Hill’s distinctive neighborhood improvement initiative – oversees Hill’s Community Service program. Students are engaged with Pottstown’s revitalization in a variety of ways, from helping to beautify the historic Edgewood Cemetery located near campus, volunteering at the Ricketts Community Center, participating in the Pottstown Area Social Innovations Lab run by Hobart’s Run, as well as assisting with other service projects benefitting local nonprofits.

Part of being a student at Hill is acknowledging that our campus is a community itself, and so, for all students, service begins "at home." As part of the Campus Service program, students may set the tables for meals in the Dining Room, assist with office tasks, help prepare science labs, and more. Students also serve the campus community in a number of other ways, including taking the lead in overseeing the dorms as prefects, planning student activities as members of the Student Life Association, and promoting the student-written Honor Code as members of the Honor Council.

Hill School Community Service Opportunities

 

  • The Ricketts Center: Participants work with the after-school program, providing homework assistance, overseeing activities, and preparing for holiday parties and other special events.
  • Centro Cultural Latinos Unidos: Hill students tutor children from bilingual families during this after-school program.
  • The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities: Hill students assist with the food pantry and other projects. 
  • Steel River Playhouse: Participants pitch in with facilities preparations prior to theatrical productions.
  • ArtFusion 19464: Artistic talents are utilized at this community arts studio as they prepare for events. 
  • TriCounty Area Active Adult Center and Keystone Villa Independent Living/Personal Care: Students help set up for events and provide other support at these organizations serving area senior citizens.
  • Better Tomorrows at Rolling Hills: Students provide homework help and mentoring to children living in this low-income housing community.
  • Hearts of Humanity: Plant care in on the menu at this nonprofit's pollinator garden in Edgewood Historic Cemetery.

Additional Projects:

• Setting up used book sales at the Pottstown Public Library.
 
• Assisting with garden and grounds care at Edgewood Historic Cemetery and community cleanup events. 
 
• Participating in Pottstown street cleanups.
 
• Engaging in donation drives for organizations such as Beacon of Hope, which serves unhoused community members, and fundraising evening for cancer research and other causes.

Pottstown CARES

Pottstown CARES provides another opportunity for volunteer service through a variety of projects completed in collaboration with students from the Pottstown School District. CARES stands for Community, Awareness, Responsibility, Empowerment, and Sustainability.  Projects range from fundraisers for local homeless assistance agencies and serving in a Pottstown soup kitchen, to building literacy support awareness through representation in the Pottstown Halloween Parade.