A Culture of Giving

Service clubs reflect students' passion to help others.

Written by Anna Maria Della Costa.

Martin Heneghan and Wes Kropf believe in fostering an environment of giving.

So, the pair of Providence Day juniors founded and co-led the Crisis Assistance Ministry Club, a school service organization that directly helps the Charlotte nonprofit in its efforts to provide assistance and advocacy for people in financial crisis.

The service club meets at least once a month on Spratt Street in the city, where students spend hours sorting and hanging clothes and separating items like shoes, socks, and household goods.

“Providence Day has persistently focused on developing a student body of global citizens, which entails giving back to the community,” Wes says. “Many students find joy in helping others because we’ve learned about the many hardships facing Charlotte, so it feels natural to want to support our neighbors.

“While my individual contributions will not comprehensively resolve the hardships facing Charlotte, they assist in a lasting movement of service that is a part of Providence Day culture.”

Serving others is a deep-seated part of Providence Day’s student body - a communal notion of kindness that pushes students to want to help wherever needed. It also shows that hundreds of students participate in service clubs every year.

“Giving back is what brings a community together and keeps them whole,” says Martin, whose club’s help with sorting and hanging clothes gives the employees of CAM “more time to focus on their noble pursuit of fighting poverty.”

Upper School students have led individual service clubs at Providence Day for over two decades. The school does not require service hours because of students’ passion for serving their community.

“Providence Day creates a warm, welcoming community that encourages kindness, respect, and appreciation for what we can give back to our community,” Martin says. “Service is an important piece of [our] identity, and our community has unanimously decided that there is a need to give back.”

‘Acts of kindness add up’

Dr. Jennifer Bratyanski, Upper School Engagement Coordinator, estimates that nearly half of the Upper School student population is directly involved with the dozens of service clubs at Providence Day.

That number, she says, doesn’t include the scores of others who are involved in varying degrees of service through their faith communities or other community or civic engagement organizations such as Scouts or GenerationNation, a nonprofit that helps develop young civic leaders.

“Service at Providence Day is not just about joining clubs; it’s woven into everyday interactions on campus,” Dr. Bratyanski says. “Students might pick up trash without being asked, hold doors open, congratulate peers on their accomplishments, celebrate other cultures, or thank teachers at the end of class. These small acts of kindness add up, creating a culture where service at Providence Day is instinctive.”

Service clubs here run the gamut, from volunteering to help clean up Mecklenburg County’s streams to empowering girls to grow in confidence and resilience.

Kayra Kalyon, for example, helps lead Sparks Cards, a group that meets and creates literacy flashcards for children whose first language is not English. The sophomore opted to participate in the club because the desire to serve is contagious.

“Students at Providence Day definitely help and promote other students to serve,” Kayra says.

Finding a fit for the passion

Students not only flock to service clubs, they push to start them.

Senior Emmaline Shepherd and junior Shaili Vemuri worked together to start the Bright Blessings service club in the spring of 2023. The club works to provide celebrations for children around the Charlotte area who are navigating through housing transitions.

The club sponsors two all-campus initiatives each year: the diaper collection during the annual Turkey Trot and a toy drive on Providence Day’s birthday called “The Gift of Giving Back.”

“Every child deserves to feel celebrated,” Emmaline says of Bright Blessings’ mission. “Our club members meet on campus every other week to make birthday cards, wrapping paper, placemats, bags, and more that the organization uses to host monthly birthday parties in shelters around Charlotte.”

She says Bright Blessings piqued her interest immediately.

“When I was in kindergarten or pre-school, it was somehow brought to my attention around my birthday that not every kid gets a birthday cake,” she says. “Looking back, my mom probably brought it up because I threw a tantrum in some grocery store aisle. It inspired me, and on that birthday, I asked my friends to bring boxed cake mix and canned frosting in lieu of gifts. Birthdays are so important in my family, and I am grateful that Bright Blessings has allowed me to be a part of many special days.”

Similarly, senior Sia Matai and sophomore Davies Easley launched Cards for Kindness this semester to “bring a smile to more people’s faces.” The group makes cards to encourage and make various organizations happy.

“Growing up, I always loved receiving cards with handwritten messages,” Sia says. “It really does say something when someone goes out of their way to manually write it in an age where texting and social media are trumping almost every mode of communication.”

Emmaline says students want to give back and enjoy service, so she tries to remember and focus on what Dr. Bratyanski tells club leaders: “Don’t compete to have the ’most members’— help students find a fit for their passion to serve.”

‘It’s part of the culture’

Senior Caroline Swinson says Service Club Fairs are popular attractions. Leaders try to get everyone who walks by to join clubs, part of the infectious kindness that spreads through the halls.

“I have also had many times where my friends have invited me to participate in one of the activities their service club was doing,” she says. “People genuinely have a good time participating in these clubs, so they want to share that with everyone.”

Caroline and fellow senior Audrey Glosson are leaders of the Alexander Youth Network, an organization that helps children in foster care with behavioral and emotional differences. On Saturdays once a month, club members spend time creating relationships with these children.

“When it’s warmer out, we like to plan outside activities like kickball or four square, and during the winter, we will either do an indoor activity in the gym like four corners, or we will do a craft correlated with a holiday or special occasion during the month,”

Caroline says. “We also partner with our school’s National Art Honors Society, and they will sometimes come and lead crafts for the kids.”

Service club members are expected to participate - and service club leaders track attendance. Member feedback is always welcome and used in decision-making when possible - and it’s standard at Providence Day that students are committed to supporting the community.

“It is important to be a part of a service club because it provides an opportunity to do something for someone other than yourself,” Caroline says. “It allows you to connect with communities outside of your regular circle, and it can bring a lot of good to the communities you choose to serve.”

She says fostering service is one of Providence Day’s strengths.

“Providence Day students choose to join service clubs because it’s a part of the culture,” Caroline says. “When I was a freshman, I was super excited to join a service club because it was just the thing to do that everyone was a part of. There are many people [here] with a heart to serve, and people are excited to take what they have and give it to others.”