Greatest Good McDonogh

What is community service?

Service is an opportunity for students to realize their power and potential to do the greatest good in the world.  Through service, students cultivate purpose, develop advocacy skills and build empathy.  Service helps students discover new challenges and opportunities in their world, as well as new talents in themselves.  Through community service, students learn many important life lessons as they expand their horizons.

How many hours of service does my child need to earn to fulfill the community service graduation requirement?

As part of Greatest Good McDonogh, our signature social impact program, Upper School students must complete 40 hours of service between the June following their eighth-grade year and August 1 of their senior year to graduate. The 40 hours may be completed through one organization or split between multiple organizations. Fifteen of the 40 hours must be dedicated to working directly with underresourced populations.

How can I find a service site for my child and get it approved?   

McDonogh has a list of approved community-based organizations at which students can engage in community service without first obtaining prior approval. 

Will this project count as community service?

Decisions about what activities will be approved and count toward the hours needed to meet the community service graduation requirement are granted case by case through Greatest Good McDonogh. Students can request approval by emailing greatestgood@mcdonogh.org. 

My organization has a service project for which I'd like to recruit students. How do we do that?

Decisions about what activities will be approved and count toward the hours needed to meet the community service graduation requirement are approved by Greatest Good McDonogh. Please reach out to the Greatest Good McDonogh staff about your organization. Projects are evaluated locally to make sure they meet all requirements.