Founded in 2020 during the pandemic, the Student Engagement Club is still going strong.
By Elie Bekelman ’27
Photos by Charlie Hewson ’26
Though many students have squeezed their cars into the tightly packed parking lot outside of Holsey Temple, few have ever been inside, missing a remarkable community dedicated to service. Every Tuesday, neighborhood residents enter Holsey Temple greeted by smiles, laughter, and warm hugs. They come to Holsey for free clothes and food, offered by the Temple’s volunteers and community members. Working to help serve lunch is a group of student volunteers from our school’s Community Engagement Club. “You guys [at GFS] are our biggest partners, and it’s been a partnership for a long time,” says Karen Ampomah, the administrator of the Community Partnership Program at Holsey.
The Community Engagement Club was founded in 2020 by Ethan Young ’23, Oscar Schwartz ’23, and Dr. Zarah Adams, GFS’ director of community engagement. The club meets three times a week during lunch, either at Holsey Temple, St. Luke’s Church, or in Dr. Zarah Adams’ office. At Holsey, club members volunteer to serve hot food, and at St. Luke’s, they package groceries to be distributed to people in need. “I think people want to get engaged in the community,” says Alex Young ’25, one of the club’s current leaders. He’s right: The club boasts over 130 members, from the last school year and that number is expected to grow.
More than 100 club members may seem like more than enough, but in reality, that’s only a third of the Upper School student body—which means that two-thirds of the high school is not in the Community Engagement Club, leaving a majority of students detached from the surrounding Germantown community. In a form sent out to a random homeroom from each grade, 50 percent of the responses rated their personal engagement with Germantown at just two out of five, and 43 percent rated GFS’s engagement (as a school) the same. “There’s a disconnect,” explains club co-leader Nina Braum-Bharti’s ’25, “and the only way to fix that is being friendly with the community members when you see them.”
Recognizing this disconnect, Dr. Adams has spearheaded initiatives for further community engagement. “Everybody has to do their part for this to work optimally,” she says. One of her recent efforts is a monthly food drive for the Germantown community. “Community engagement takes the whole community to get involved,” she adds. “So I would love to see a bag of groceries [for the food drive] come from every car in the car line. That would be phenomenal.”
The club leaves students feeling positive and helpful, whether it's having a conversation with a new patron at Holsey Temple or distributing food at St. Luke’s. However, for many students, balancing schoolwork and extracurriculars can be stressful. They may feel they don’t have time to add additional commitments—but engaging with the community can actually help relieve stress. While volunteering at Holsey Temple, GFS students enjoy the warm atmosphere created by the various community members who come in to eat, catch up with a friend, exchange stories, or just be in the presence of others. “I believe that you give what you get; if you treat things with love and kindness, I think love and kindness will show in the whole environment,” says Holsey’s Ampomah.
Showing up for the community not only spreads love for others but also is enriching in so many ways. “In life,” says Ampomah, “you have to think about someone other than yourself. My belief is that we were put on this earth not only to serve ourselves, but to serve others in the community. Once you do that, blessings flow throughout your life.”
Thank you for reading this Earthquake article! We hope you enjoyed. Please check out our other articles. Check us out on Instagram as well!