In preparation for their partnership this year with Face to Face, the 5th grade classes welcomed Director Mary Kay to campus last week to hear about the organization, its mission, and its services. Face to Face is a non-profit, located just a few blocks from Greene Street Friends School in Germantown that provides important services to individuals, from access to food and health to assistance in finding jobs and a place to wash. Mary highlighted the fact that "what we do is not as important as the way we do it." 

Kia Davenport, a former third grade teacher, began this partnership over twenty years ago when her class began to organize a canned food drive to benefit Face to Face around Thanksgiving. “It actually started out as a math project, where the kids were classifying the cans and making grids. We collected so many cans that we thought we should open it up the entire lower school. Eventually it became a school-wide project.”

The tradition continues to this day, with a few tweaks. Now organized by Kate’s and Tishna’s fifth grade classes, this year’s students will be collecting items in the spring. Mary explained to students that hunger exists year-round, but that most donations arrive during the end of the calendar year. By moving the GSFS drive, it will actually have a greater impact for Face to Face and its clients.

Another change for this year is that the fifth grade will be doing more than the canned drive. Students will have the opportunity to visit Face to Face to meet with clients and play Bingo together.

Fifth grade teacher Kate shared that the relationship between GSFS and Face to Face is truly a partnership. "Every time I go there, I get something new out of the experience. We all get so much out of having Face to Face in our community." Kate and the students reflected on how Face to Face's mission reflects the Quaker SPICES (Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship) that GSFS students learn.

Students also learned more about how non-profits function and how that will later tie into their Million Dollar Project, in which they will create and budget for their own non-profit.