Trinity Prep students are no strangers to giving back to the Central Florida community. The Class of 2022 put in 24K+ hours of community service over four years due to a desire to serve without any requirement to do so. The Class of 2023 falls closely behind them and this next school year will be an eventful observation in watching them continue to look for opportunities to volunteer.
Why Community Service is Important to Trinity Prep
Community service is clearly the bedrock to Trinity Prep’s culture. The Saints always look for opportunities to make meaningful connections and changes within the Central Florida community. Our students love to do good work, but here are some of the additional benefits to our students when they spend time doing community service.
Volunteering increases self-confidence in students
Trinity Prep Saints are an exceptional group of students, but we’ve seen the power that volunteering has on improving their self-confidence. They know they’re doing something meaningful for the community, giving a natural sense of accomplishment typically greater than the accomplishments they’ve shown in the classroom.
It improves mental health and wellbeing
Volunteering also gives students a sense of identity and belonging. The stressors in our lives that can trigger anxiety and depression can be combated through volunteering. Our volunteer teams stay in regular contact with others. Our students build support systems during their volunteer projects that can span the rest of their school career.
It supports values and personal development growth
Community service is a great way to explore interests and passions. Doing volunteer work means our students can find an energizing way to break up a normal routine. This can trigger a renewed sense of creativity and vision, and that creativity can carry over into the classroom. We’ve seen a number of students volunteer at one location and then become inspired by that work to apply their classroom knowledge in new ways to help an organization or help solve a larger problem.
Creates a “happiness effect”
Research from multiple studies has shown that helping others and acts of kindness directly influence innate happiness. When researchers at the London School of Economics examined the relationship between volunteering and the measures of happiness in a large group of American adults, they found the more people volunteered, the happier they were, according to a study in Social Science and Medicine. Comparing these results with those who had never volunteered –the odds of being “very happy” rose 7% among those who chose to volunteer monthly and 12% for people who volunteered every two to four weeks.
Ways We Serve
Students and faculty/staff at Trinity Prep consistently look for ways to serve its community, and we let our students take the lead on what they’re passionate about. When Trinity Prep students Max Balon and Aetant Prakash approached school administration with two ideas to help the people of Ukraine, the Saints community jumped right in to assist. In a matter of days, Balon hit his goal of raising money towards medical supplies to send overseas. Prakash had the an idea to host a “Culture Fest” on the school’s campus where a number of Trinity Prep families, from different countries, sharing different customs and traditions – could host a fundraising event to assist in raising funds for the people of Ukraine. These projects hit very close to Balon’s heart, as he’s half Ukranian and half Russian. Together, with both initiatives by Balon and Prakash, they raised more than $10,000 to send to various organizations assisting Ukraine. By letting our students drive the community service efforts, we can better understand what issues they’re most passionate about.
Trinity Prep offers your child the opportunity to thrive in an environment that encourages them to apply what they’re learning beyond the walls of the classroom. Want to see for yourself what sets Trinity Prep apart from other Orlando private schools? Schedule a tour or give our admissions team a call at 321-282-2515.