Sophomore Civic Lab Pilot Program Ends Year on High Note

Parker’s Upper School expanded its civic engagement focus this year with the Sophomore Year Civic Lab Pilot Program. The theme was “Sister Cities,” and the students wanted to end the school year by giving back to those in need in the surrounding area. With that in mind, students and advisors Brianna Ifft and Xiao Zhang decided to work on a clothing drive with Cradles to Crayons and their partners New Life Centers.

Cradles to Crayons is a nonprofit organization providing children in homeless or low-income situations with essential items, including clothing, and partners with the nonprofit New Life Centers to give adult clothing to the migrant population in Chicago. Sophomores worked on collecting clothing from the entire school to distribute to the incoming migrants settling in Chicago.

With a civic-focused mindset, and a potential ice cream party on the horizon for the advisory who donated the most items, donations soon came pouring in. “We were overwhelmed by the amount of donations,” Ifft said. “The response from the community was incredible, and we are so thankful!”

Parker is extremely grateful to everyone who donated clothing items and very proud of the hard work of these sophomores. And, as Ifft shared, “We are excited that an explicit civic engagement component will be coming back to the sophomore grade!”

Click here for photos of the sophomores sorting through donations with help from our friends at Cradles to Crayons.