A dozen nervous children hugged volleyballs in Lewis Gym. After being paired with a member of the girls varsity volleyball team, they spread out across the volleyball court and practiced the fundamentals of the game. As the volleyball youth clinic progressed, the young athletes began to open up, and smiles lit up their faces as they honed their skills.

“It was a great opportunity for our team to meet children from our community and teach the fundamentals of volleyball,” says Jess Stolarek '25, a libero on the team. “When introducing the young athletes to the ins and outs of the sport, it reminds us of the basics of the game, which is crucial for us to revisit as players.”

Stolarek recalls attending a similar opportunity when she was a child. “It was at that clinic that I fell in love with volleyball,” she says. “I hope the kids enjoyed our clinic and will want to continue playing volleyball.”

The youth volleyball clinic was held in partnership with Northeast Opportunities for Wellness (NOW), a nonprofit dedicated to making a positive impact in the lives of youth in the Quiet Corner by ensuring that every child has access to social, emotional, and physical wellness. The clinic is just one of many ways Pomfret School's athletics and afternoon programs are serving the community this fall.

Our girls varsity and JV soccer and girls JV volleyball teams have partnered with Rectory’s afterschool program to mentor students on Thursday afternoons. Meanwhile, our cross country, football, and boys thirds soccer teams have helped maintain the Pomfret Woods trails and cleaned up outside the Pomfret Public Library. Our dedicated community service afternoon program has assisted with these projects and volunteered at the Covenant Soup Kitchen in Willimantic and Refugee Dream Center in Providence — all while running the Pomfret School Thrift Shop. By season’s end, all students will have participated in a service or stewardship project.

At Pomfret, service and stewardship opportunities are deeply woven into school life. Integrating service as an essential part of a Pomfret education instills the values and strength of character students will need to lead lives of civic engagement and social responsibility.

Beyond afternoon programs, students also engage in service activities through QUEST. An upcoming session is dedicated to service, and Pomfret will once again partner with NOW to host a youth multi-sport clinic where students will teach children how to play flag football, field hockey, and soccer. Other students will have the opportunity to volunteer at the Covenant Soup Kitchen, Palmer Arboretum, and other community locations.

Students also give back to the community as part of their coursework. The Bigger Than Ourselves class runs a food pantry and the Pomfret Power Packs initiative. This program, in partnership with TEEG's Weekend Food Distribution, helps distribute groceries to food-insecure families. The Happiness Project course includes multiple service opportunities with local soup kitchens and community centers.

Later this year, students will spend days focusing on service and stewardship projects. During Project: Pomfret, students will collect and distribute formal attire for the Cinderella Project, create and sell art to benefit local nonprofits as part of the KindArt initiative, and teach physical education classes to elementary students through the We Are Fit program. In the spring, on the Day of Service, students and faculty team up on volunteer projects in our community.

“Service learning and stewardship not only allow opportunities for Pomfret students to give back to their community and cultivate greater compassion, they also provide our students with experiences to see beyond themselves and put their empathy into action,” says Service Coordinator and Director of Wellbeing Erin Fisher. “These are chances for our students to intensify their capacity to care more deeply about others and become even more engaged in the world.”
 

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