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Community Service

James River Day School's fourth-grade school patrols helps with morning carpool
“Integrity isn’t made up of DNA (or a GPA) but of learned beliefs, capacities, attitudes, and skills that create a moral compass that children use to help them know what’s right, care about what’s right, and do what’s right.” –Michele Borba, Ed.D., Thrivers: The Surprising Reasons Why Some Kinds Struggle and Others Shine
Dedicated to building strength of character, it is imperative that all James River students learn to lead lives of integrity and empathy. Under the direction of Casey Eccles, Community Service Coordinator, students from kindergarten through eighth grade participate in service learning on and off campus, culminating in the eighth-grade course, Public Speaking, where students research non-profits and give presentations on areas of need in the Lynchburg community. 

Some examples of recent service projects are:
  • as a service project, James River students create valentine cards and share them for anyone who would like to use oneStudents make cards and decorations for Meals on Wheels.
  • Fourth-grade students handle the collection of the school's paper for recycling.
  • At different times of the year, students collect clothing and/or toys/stuffed animals for donation to charitable organizations.
  • One of the school community's biggest projects every year is the Thankful Hearts Canned Food Drive. Each November, students, parents, faculty, and staff work together to collect more than 10,000 cans of food for local emergency food pantries and kitchens.
  • Fourth-grade students serve on the safety patrol at morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up during the carpool periods for younger students, assisting the younger children in and out of cars.
  • Older students serve as Cardinal Buddies for younger students. This school-wide program features one "Buddy" event each month.
  • Older students serve as peer mentors and informal tutors to younger students in their advisory groups.
  • Middle-school advisory groups engage in litter cleanup along the roadsides bordering the campus and clean debris from around the campus as well.
  • At Christmas, many advisory groups and homerooms sponsor an angel from the Jubilee Family Development Center, gathering gifts to brighten the holidays for children at the center.