The Social Action Program at Stone Ridge isn't just an exercise in charity or a fulfillment of community service hours. Twice a month throughout the academic year, Upper School students leave campus to learn about issues of human dignity and to support people in need. On Social Action days, you'll see Stone Ridge girls in over forty locations in the greater Washington, DC area visiting elderly residents of assisted living facilities, supporting students and adults impaired by physical disabilities, cleaning up a park or advocating for care and protection of our natural environment, learning about local and international issues of human rights abuses, attending to children and supporting teachers in public, charter, and Catholic schools, distributing donated goods for individuals and families facing economic hardship, and visiting, assisting, or preparing food for the homeless of our region.
Several of our students visit the Excel Academy in Anacostia. Excel Academy is an all-girls public charter school serving Pre-K through Grade 8. Emma Sullivan '18 has been volunteering at Excel Academy since her junior year. She rejects "When I first began working at Excel Academy, I immediately saw parallels between the school's ideals and the goals of the Sacred Heart. Excel Academy strives to implement the ideals of integrity, discipline, enjoyment, achievement, leadership, and sisterhood, core values that Stone Ridge also deeply respects. The similarities between our missions are what make working at Excel so rewarding. I work in Kindergarten classrooms where I help the girls with penmanship, reading skills, and mathematics practice. Although it may seem like a traditional learning environment, the main component of the classrooms at Excel is the emphasis on shaping the student's character. The teachers empower the girls, encourage them to be confident and curious, and teach them to build up one another, embracing the ideal of sisterhood. As this is my second year at Excel, I've also seen the impact Stone Ridge girls make, not only on Excel as a whole, but on the individuals they interact with. Stone Ridge's emphasis on our core values allows us to understand the importance of implementing those standards during our Social Action visits to set an example to those around us. Because of this, we are able to share our love for learning, leadership skills, confidence, and appreciation for sisterhood with the girls we work with. Working at Excel has given me the opportunity to take what Stone Ridge has taught me and use it to help educate others."