Service Learning

Since our founding in 1998, service has been at the heart of Concordia’s mission, reflecting our dedication to shaping well-rounded individuals who lead with compassion and purpose. Here, service and service learning empower students to engage deeply with local and global issues, fostering insightful learning, principle-centered leadership, and active global citizenship. This commitment to service is integral to our holistic approach to education, enriching academic, social, and personal growth by nurturing empathy, instilling a sense of responsibility, and inspiring students to create meaningful, positive change in the world.

Relationship-Based

Our goal is to build sustainable, real change for our community by partnering with local organizations. For some types of projects Concordia already has an established preferred partner organization.

Research-Based

In thinking about ways to serve, we often decide for ourselves what other people need, often leading to conflict or failed initiatives. Instead, we need to experience the community around us so that our service addresses a genuine need.

STUDENT CENTRIC

Active-Role

Students plan activities which involve them interacting with the community in some way.

Direct Service

Students directly engage in service activities that benefit the local population

Advocacy

Students create information presentations raising awareness for a need

Reflective

Students reflect during the process and after in order to insure not only that they are learning from the experience but that they are doing the most good.

2025-2026 Service Initiative of the Month

Service Charity Work 2024-2025

During the 2024-25 school year Concordia reignited the Service Initiative of the month program bringing unique opportunities for the community to engage with a specific service partner each month. The featured initiatives were:

Giving Tree

In partnership with the Community Center Shanghai the 8^th grade MS team worked to organize, pack and deliver Christmas gift bags for a local Shanghai migrant school. 275 bags were delivered that included school supplies, sports supplies, a backpack, and a winter coat.

Students Engaged: 90

Shining Star Drone Program

Dr. Peter Tong lead a team of students to Guangzhou to lead a weekend drone workshop for left behind children. Over 200 Guangzhou students applied to be part of this workshop.

Students Engaged: 6

1st Grade Lemonade Day

As part of their ongoing economics unit 1st grade students and teachers organized the sale of lemonade to the campus community. Proceeds from the event were donated directly to Stepping Stones.

Students Engaged: 80

Cabaret

The annual Cabaret musical event sold tickets for the benefit of Shining Star during the spring semester of the ’25 school year.

Students Engaged: 50

PAWS HEAL – Comfort Dogs

Paws Heal partnered with Concordia GIN to bring a variety of comfort dogs on campus for an event prior to finals week.

Students Engaged: 100

Xiaohusai: Fair Trade Tea Sales

Student entrepreneurs work with a local Shanghai company to help support the sale and distribution of tea grown in Yunnan.

Students Engaged: 15

Third Culture Coffee Farm Visit

For the first time in several years students in the HS Third Culture Coffee organization were able to visit Guiben Farm who produces the coffee processed and sold by the club.

Students Engaged: 25

Envision Education

This project is a combination of service learning/teaching, donations, and advocacy. A team of 6 students and 2 chaperones worked tirelessly throughout the year to prepare for a trip to Nepal that donated and provided training for new computer labs to an association of schools in Nepal. This marks the sixth school Envision Education has supported in the last 3 years.

Students Engaged: 6

Our Stories

Award-Winning Service Leaders & Visionaries

Over the past years, Envision Education—a student-led initiative at Concordia—has truly made its mark. In recognition of their impact, the team was recently awarded the 2025 ACAMIS Service Learning Grant, receiving $1,200 to support their continued efforts.

Grade 8 Leads the Way in Giving Tree Project

As part of our service learning initiative, the Service of the Month program is already bursting with inspirational and impactful stories! Let’s focus the spotlight on the Giving Tree project, led by our very own Grade 8 students, who have stepped up to make a real difference.

Bean to Brew: TCC’s Yunnan Trip

Ever wondered what social entrepreneurship truly means? At Concordia, it’s more than a concept—it’s a real-world journey. From planting and picking coffee beans to roasting, marketing, packaging, and even creating cultural products, our students are diving into every step of the coffee story.

Service in Action with Shining Star

Partnering with Shining Star, a non-profit organization committed to supporting left-behind children in rural China, our student volunteers engaged with 20 elementary and middle school students at a local community center in Guangzhou.

How Concordia Students Ignite Hope for Children in Need

Through service projects like our work with Shining Star, students are able to grow in their ability to empathize and lead in times when compassion and mercy are needed.

Concordia Students Expanding Horizons Through Reading Hope

Reading Hope is a student-led club dedicated to promoting equitable education through the donation of books and the creation of libraries for migrant and underfunded schools around the world.

Sipping Our Way to Social Betterment

With Concordia’s emphasis on community service, we’ve discovered that we can make a difference, even as a small group of high schoolers.