Community Service
Lamplighter strongly believes in the value of serving both local and broader communities. Acts of service, even small ones, give children a meaningful sense of accomplishment while fostering empathy and a deeper sense of belonging.
Service opportunities are organized through the Lamplighter Green Team and the Community Outreach Committee of the Lamplighter Parents’ Association (LPA). In addition, the School honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. each year with a half-day of service, encouraging students to broaden their perspectives and grow in civic engagement. Through these experiences, students strengthen empathy, leadership skills, and confidence—hallmarks of Lamplighter’s social-emotional program.
Lamplighter Green Team
The Lamplighter Green Team, composed of faculty and staff members, works to raise awareness about environmental challenges while taking action to reduce the School’s carbon footprint and promote sustainability within the broader community. The Green Team hosts an annual educational Earth Day assembly for all students, faculty, and staff. In addition to its environmental initiatives, the Green Team also leads community service efforts throughout the year, including:
- Shoe drives collecting new or gently used footwear
- Canned food drives benefiting the North Texas Food Bank
- Campus clean-up days to remove trash from the adjacent creek
- Book drives for local nonprofit organizations
- Creating Valentine’s Day cards for senior community members
Community Outreach Committee
Supported by the Lamplighter Parents' Association (LPA)
Community outreach initiatives organized by the LPA include a variety of programs supporting Family Gateway, a local organization serving families affected by homelessness. Each year, parent volunteers organize food and drink donations, and third- and fourth-grade students gather before school on a designated day to assemble more than 200 snack bags for families in need. The LPA committee also coordinates additional service efforts throughout the year, including:
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Halloween costume drives each fall
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Laundry pod drives held in conjunction with Lamplighter’s Donuts with Dads event
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Cereal drives held in conjunction with Lamplighter’s Muffins with Moms event
Half Day of Service
All students participate in Lamplighter’s annual Half Day of Service, a meaningful initiative that supports the School’s social-emotional curriculum while giving students hands-on opportunities to make a positive impact through partnerships with local nonprofit organizations.
In recent years, Early Childhood students have supported organizations such as Feed the City and the SPCA of Texas, while Lower School students have focused their efforts on the Visiting Nurse Association’s Meals on Wheels program. All service projects take place on campus, allowing students to work together in support of local nonprofits. Guest speakers often join the event to help students better understand the purpose and impact of their service.
Donations through Lamplighter Layers
Students also connect with the broader community through the Lamplighter Layers Corporation, a signature entrepreneurship program for Lamplighter Seniors. As part of this fourth grade experience, students operate their own business and, at the conclusion of the year, vote to donate a portion of the proceeds to both local and national charitable organizations.
In recent years, students have supported causes such as the ASPCA, The Barking Project, Children's Cancer Fund, Make-A-Wish Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, and Wounded Warrior Project.
At the final Lamplighter Layers meeting each spring, representatives from the selected organizations are invited to campus, where students formally present their donations—an authentic and meaningful culmination of their leadership, entrepreneurship, and service learning experience.
