Illustration by Victoria Borges
The parents at Al Madina School of Richmond, which has an Islamic educational component, help students across Richmond realize they have more similarities than differences. They facilitate visits from neighboring schools, during which Al Madina’s students give presentations that educate their newly met peers about Islam. After that, there is a discussion that allows the students to get to know each other.
“They may say, ‘I’m into soccer and spaghetti,’ and another might say, ‘Well, so am I.’ They realize they are all kids and they all like the same thing,” says Annette Khan, administrative assistant at Al Madina.
These cultural events are a facet of parental participation at Al Madina, and an example of the many different ways parents at private schools across the Richmond region devote their volunteer hours. Each private school — whether it’s a small, religious private like Al Madina, a small niche-private such as Riverside School or a large institution like Collegiate — has different requirements and traditions for how parents can give back.
Parents and students from Al Madina volunteered with FeedMore. (Photo courtesy Al Madina School of Richmond)
Al Madina’s cultural events generally cater to students in other private schools that have a world religions or Islamic studies aspect in their curriculum. For their children’s understanding of Islam, Al Madina’s parents assist them in reenacting an annual mini-Hajj at the school, which teaches the students the meaning of the traditional pilgrimage to Mecca.
Al Madina’s parents also work to foster a sense of social responsibility among the school’s 107 students.
“We try to have our students do a lot of community service. We have parents that take students to participate in CARITAS and the Central Virginia Foodbank,” Khan says. “We are really trying to get them to be good members of the community.”
Parents volunteer at Collegiate's Village Green Fair fun run. (Photo courtesy Collegiate School)
Parents at Collegiate School, which has more than 1,600 students in its upper, middle and lower schools, also emphasize participation in cross-cultural activities.
Nearly 100 families at Collegiate have hosted students from abroad as part of the school’s global education program. They previously opened their homes to an entire British lacrosse team. Collegiate parents also host students for the school’s International Emerging Leaders Conference. The conference requires Collegiate students work with 40 visiting students from 11 countries to solve environmental challenges in the United States and abroad. Parents also make sure the students are provided refreshments as they expend brain power tackling pollution and global warming.
“It’s an opportunity for students to collaborate with students from other countries and to realize the world is bigger than their own existence,” says Collegiate spokeswoman Stacy Adams.
The school’s Parents’ Association organizes the Village Green Fair, open to the community every year on school grounds. It also hosts the Cougar Classic, in which teachers square off against each other in a faculty basketball game.
“We have parent volunteers for every age and stage of our students’ experience at Collegiate, and we are grateful for their generous support. They are truly our partners in education,” Adams says.
All Saints Catholic School requires each parent to devote 10 hours of volunteering annually. But many parents are more than happy to put in extra time, and are honored at appreciation breakfasts.
This year, All Saints parents volunteered 1,031 hours, and 37 of the school’s 163 families — which include students in prekindergarten through eighth grade — gave more than 10 hours.
Charisse Matthews, All Saints’ Parent Teacher Organization president, logs well above the required 10 hours.
“I absolutely love it. I would not have been part of the PTO for seven years if I didn’t,” she says.
Matthews has served three years as president and two as vice president. Before she held leadership roles, she was a room parent and all-around parent volunteer.
Matthews and other PTO parents help plan events such as the school’s annual spring dance and spring carnival. They focus on making new families feel welcome during orientation and fundraising.
Matthews says there’s never a shortage of parents to help with events and rarely needs more than a friendly hello to recruit volunteers.
“One of our parents asked during a meeting if I was going to set up a SignUpGenius to get parents to help with the spring dance. I said no, when they show up at the dance, I can say, ‘Hey, you want to help?’ ” Matthews says. “She looked at me like I was crazy … but we had all of these parents who were more than willing to stay because they enjoy themselves as much as the kids.”
Steward parent Jason Welch assists a student volunteer at Rise Against Hunger. (Photo courtesy The Steward School)
Like Collegiate, The Steward School has a robust global education program dependent on host families. During the 2016-17 school year, there were 19 international students from China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Germany. International students live with host families, many of whom have children who attend the school, though it’s not required. Others live with their biological families.
Wanda Welch, Parents Association vice president at The Steward School, says the 600-student institution — which accommodates students from prekindergarten to 12th grade — creates an environment that fosters volunteering.
“We have a great pool of volunteers at school. Even though many of them work full time, they are willing to give you an hour here and an hour there,” Welch says. “A lot of times, parents start off doing something small like I did, and people always want to stay involved.”
Welch and other parent volunteers help plan events such as the SpartaFest, which is held every October and is open to the community, as well as a winter gala and a family bingo night. The Parents Association also hosts new-family orientations and sponsors parent education and enrichment seminars.
If parents aren’t sure where they fit, the Parents Association has an online questionnaire that allows respondents to select the areas that interest them most. Parents have the option of participating in music and theater programs, planning an MLK Day of Service, hosting a movie night and more.
