For years, students from Fairhaven High School have spent part of their school day not inside a classroom, but inside the busy volunteer spaces at GiftsToGive — sorting and inspecting donations and helping support children and families in need across the South Coast.
What began as part of Fairhaven High School’s Day of Service initiative in 2018 has grown into a meaningful partnership rooted in empathy, civic responsibility, and service learning.
According to Assistant Principal of Teaching and Learning Tracy Higgins, the connection to GiftsToGive began through a previous instructor at their school who had already been bringing students to volunteer for years before the school formally incorporated GiftsToGive into its service program.
“In 2018 we started what we call our day of service, this is a program where we try to create multiple opportunities for Juniors and Seniors to serve in the community. GiftsToGive was one of the places we heard about in conversations with other educators, so we added them to the list of places students can conduct their day of service,” Assistant Principal Higgins shared.
Although the program paused during the COVID – 19 pandemic, student interest helped bring it back. “I was approached in the Fall of 2024 by two students who wanted the return of the day of service,” Higgins explained. “So, we picked it up again two years ago.”
This year, more than 40 students volunteered with GiftsToGive, continuing a tradition that school leaders say extends far beyond community service hours. For Higgins, the experience is about helping students develop perspective and empathy through authentic experiences.
“I think it’s important to provide perspective for students,” Higgins said. “Perspective helps build empathy and a deeper respect for people and life in general.”
For students, the experience often provides an opportunity to step outside the classroom and connect directly with the community in meaningful ways. In anonymous reflections submitted after their day of service, many students described feeling a stronger sense of purpose and connection through their volunteer work.
Students appreciated the opportunity to spend the school day contributing to something larger than themselves. “It was nice to get out of school for the day to do something for the community,” one student wrote. Another shared, “I enjoyed being active in the community and being able to do something that mattered.”
Other students highlighted the personal connections they formed throughout the experience and the impact they hoped to make on local families and children in need. “What I enjoyed most was connecting with different people,” one student commented, while another wrote, “My favorite part was spreading joy and happiness towards the youth.”
For school leaders, reflections like these reinforce the broader goal of the Day of Service initiative which is to help students build empathy, perspective, and a stronger connection to the community around them.
At Fairhaven High School, volunteer experiences like GiftsToGive also connect directly to what students are learning in school. The district’s “Profile of a Learner” emphasizes five essential skills that help to build student success. These skills include collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, and civic participation — all of which educators believe are strengthened when students actively engage with their local community.
“We talk about these things in school,” Higgins shared. “But it’s difficult to find genuine and authentic opportunities for students to practice these things in real time. When kids go to GiftsToGive, they are genuinely involved in something very important. It’s not just talking or reading about community service — we are actively participating in it.”
For some students, the lessons extend beyond community service hours and have become meaningful experiences connected to identity, gratitude, and giving back.
One student described the Day of Service as “a great way to connect back to my roots, and to help others in ways that aren’t typically available for the average volunteer work.”
As Fairhaven High School continues to strengthen and expand its Day of Service initiative, educators hope experiences like these leave a lasting impression on students and help them recognize the value of empathy, collaboration, and community involvement. While the Day of Service may end when students return to the classroom, school leaders say the lessons gained through service —civic responsibility, compassion, and human connection — are experiences students carry with them long after graduation.
Story by (Marissa Sebastiao)