In an effort to encourage students to participate in community outreach activities, Community Council organized Community Service Week from Nov. 12 to Nov. 16, in which members of each grade aided non-profit organizations during their class meetings.

Sophomores packaged art supplies and wrote letters to students at the Wise Readers to Leaders School program, which supports and promotes literacy among underprivileged children by providing them with school supplies and books. During their class meeting, the juniors also  packaged food for Rise Against Hunger, an organization that distributes food to those in need across the world.

“[Rise Against Hunger] is very good about making the experience fun for our students while also having a really far reach with their programs,” Community Council member Carli Cooperstein ’20 said. “The food that we packaged in the junior class meeting will be going all over to other countries and parts of the world, where people need meals.”

Additionally, a representative from Homeboy Industries, an organization that helps previously incarcerated individuals reintegrate into society, spoke to the seniors during class meeting.

“I think seniors look forward to the event [where] we host a speaker from Homeboy Industries,” Community Council member and Chronicle freelance photographer Noah Aire ’20 said. “It’s very hard once you are someone who is charged with certain things to get back on your feet and get where you want to go, and it’s really inspirational for seniors to hear, especially since they’re going off to college.”

Community Council also organized a Thanksgiving canned food drive for the North Hollywood Interfaith Food Pantry.  Students dropped their donations into bins in front of their dean’s office. At the end of the drive, the dean group with the most donated food will receive one free period instead of attending their class meeting.

Upper School Dean Celso Cardenas said that the Thanksgiving food drive was successful in helping the community beyond the school.

“On top of the great work done last week, this week students really came through with an abundance of donations for the food drive,” Cardenas said. “All of the bins outside the Dean offices are spilling over with food for those who most need it.”