Community Service

At Pembroke Hill, community service is grounded in active engagement and shared responsibility. Throughout their upper school journey, students partner directly with Kansas City organizations to address vital local needs.

Freshmen and seniors bookend their high school experience working with Cultivate KC (opens in a new window) at the Juniper Gardens Training Farm (opens in a new window), clearing beds and supporting local refugee farmers through the New Roots for Refugees program (opens in a new window). (Read about a recent project on the Cultivate KC Blog (opens in a new window)).

Each fall, our junior class spends a day sorting and packing food at Harvesters (opens in a new window). This hands-on service anchors a campus-wide drive that collected 4,051 pounds of food—providing 3,376 meals for local families last year. In the spring, the entire school rallies behind seasonal drives supporting essential dignity & hygiene items through Giving the Basics (opens in a new window) and street medicine with Care Beyond the Boulevard (opens in a new window)—an organization our students also support through the off-site Engage KC elective.

Our upper school students have a sixty-hour service requirement for graduation, yet 77 percent of the Class of 2026 exceeded this requirement and the entire class amassed a total of 12,768 community service hours. Together, these experiences yield extraordinary impact: to date, our upper school students have served–through direct engagement in our community–over 27,000 volunteer hours, with 56 upper school students and 9 middle school students earning the Pembroke Hill Service Award.

List of service opportunities (opens in a new window) for upper school students updated weekly + list of Community Service & Engagement partners. (opens in a new window)