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.

2024-2025 Service Initiative of the Month

Service Charity Work 2023-2024

During the 2023-24 school year Concordia officially sponsored 21 service projects that were approved through the documented process. These projects were carried out by students from ES, MS, and HS as well as faculty and staff members. In total approximately 527 students were engaged in these projects serving in a variety of ways both locally and abroad.

Reading Hope Book Donations

Student club reading hope continues to receive donations from Concordia’s library of gently used books. The group sorts the books based on language and age group and ships to various schools around Asia. This school year reading hope has sent books to three schools in China as well as four schools in Cambodia. The total number of books sent in the 2023-24 school year was over 1,000.

Students Engaged: 25

Shining Star Service Trip

Students traveled to Guangzhou to offer an interactive weekend for students at local community centers. Activities focused on social/emotional training and education.

Students Engaged: 5

2nd Grade Lemonade Day

As part of their ongoing economics unit 2^nd grade students and teachers organized the sale of lemonade at the super APAC soccer event hosted at Concordia. Proceeds from the event were donated directly to CWEF and Shining Star.

Students Engaged: 80

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

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. The trip took place over the spring break holiday.

Students Engaged: 6

Cabaret

The annual Cabaret musical event sold tickets for the benefit of Shining Star during the spring semester of the ’24 school year. The donation of 8000 RMB will help continue to fund Shining Star’s support of education for girls in rural China.

Students Engaged: 50

Dressember

Amity a subgroup of GIN held a fundraising event for the Dressember organization. This event included a special dress week in which students and faculty could were a dress or tie in support of the fight against human trafficking across the world.

Students Engaged: 100

Social Enterprise: 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

Service Charity Work 2022-2023

A summary of service project in 2022-2023

1. Envision Education

2. ARK Charity Fair

3. Dancers Against Cancer Advocacy/Fundraising Performance

4. Giving Tree

5. 30 hr. Famine

6. ES Leadership Council

7. Dressember

8. Olympic Week Charity Tournament

9. International Women’s Day Photo Shoot

10. Secondhand Clothing Sale

11. Cultural Tours Shanghai Video Making

12. ARK Home Clean-ups

13. Reading Hope Book Donations

14. Li Foundation Feed the Homeless

15. Heart to Heart Hospital visits

16. Cabaret

17. Girl Scouts

18. WILL Foundation Eco-Farming

19. Social Enterprise: Fair Trade Tea Sales

20. Yunnan Service Trip (HS Explorations)

21. Shining Star Service Trip (HS Explorations)

Our Stories

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.

Empowering 'Left-Behind' Children through Service with Shining Star

Our students engaged directly with the children at one of Shining Star's community outreach centres in Guangzhou.

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.

A semester snapshot of Service Learning

The momentum around Service Learning is strong and it's exciting to see so much going on in our classrooms.