Cultivating compassion through giving back.
Hollywood Schoolhouse nurtures, supports, and inspires each of us to be the best version of ourselves. One of the most important lessons we can learn is the value of giving ourselves for the betterment of others. We do this by partnering with several different organizations, year after year, whose missions are to create a better world.
Our community partners include…
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Project Angel Food
Project Angel Food was created by a group of compassionate volunteers who were concerned about our most fragile community members suffering in silence while battling critical illnesses. Our elementary students and families have taken part in several service projects for this great organization, preparing fruit baskets in one of Project Angel Food’s kitchens, assisting with special events, and creating hand-crafted projects for those they serve. We also regularly send the food grown in the HSH Garden to Project Angel Food for their charitable use.
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PATH (People Assisting The Homeless)
Students from HSH visit PATH and help children at the shelter with homework or offer them some wonderful moments of shared play. HSH has also hosted drives where families experiencing homelessness in Hollywood were able to receive furniture, clothing, and essentials they need to move into a new home. We are proud to support the less fortunate inhabitants of Hollywood, and feel that demonstrating this kind of support allows our children to grow into caring, compassionate individuals.
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Children’s Hospital LA
Our Preschool and Transitional Kindergarten collaborate on our annual Helping Hands Sale where all proceeds benefit Children’s Hospital LA. Each class creates crafts that are sold to our wider school community, and every bit of money raised goes directly to aiding those in need.
The HSH community looks forward to supporting Children’s Hospital LA again this year and for many years to come!
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Food on Foot
Food on Foot is a nonprofit organization that supports unhoused neighbors by providing meals, clothing, job opportunities, and pathways to permanent housing. Through our partnership, students serve on Sundays by helping organize materials, distributing food and clothing, and hearing firsthand from individuals who have experienced homelessness and rebuilt their lives. In class, we do readings and perform pieces centered on empathy and the diverse challenges faced by the unhoused community. This work deepens their compassion, perspective, and sense of responsibility.
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Kids Helping LA
We currently partner with Kids Helping LA, a local group that seeks volunteer opportunities through Los Angeles where families can volunteer their time collectively. Recently, we teamed up with the California Climate Action Corps to remove invasive plants that encourage wildfires from Runyon Canyon.
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QueensCare
Every Thanksgiving, our community comes together to create care packages for unhoused members of the Hollywood community who will be spending the holidays on the streets. Our students collect hygienic items and contribute their time to write notes that will be included in the care packages.
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TreePeople
TreePeople is a nonprofit association that benefits both nature and people. Our upper elementary classes have helped this organization shovel, turn, transplant, and learn to properly prepare over 500 pieces of greenery for planting. We also participate in park clean-ups and other tree care events.
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#TeamSeas
The 6th Grade partnered with #TeamSeas to raise funds to clean up our oceans! For every dollar donated to the cause, Team Seas removes a pound of trash from major bodies of water across the globe.
Formidable Joy
Hollywood Schoolhouse and Formidable Joy partnered to create HSH for H₂O, a three-week fundraising and service-learning campaign where children learned about the global water crisis and raised money to bring a new water well to a community in Malawi, Africa.
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A custom HSH for H₂O logo was created and all students received an H₂O sticker.
JUST Water partnered with us and donated water to all the students and staff. After enjoying their JUST Water, students decorated their JUST bottles and transformed them into coin-collecting devices.
A tippy tap (a hand-washing station made of branches, buckets & rope) was constructed and placed on the school yard for students to explore and experience.
Every class received Formidable Fact sheets that included information about the global water crisis, Malawi specifics, and everyday water usage facts.
One student launched her very own chores for change campaign and raised over $150! Another young student made signs, asked for donations and sold JUST Water at local hiking trails. Grade 3 raised money & awareness with a lemonade stand on Larchmont Boulevard, garnering $432 in just 2 hours! 4th Graders collected so much change via their JUST Water bottles that their Jerry Can weighed over 30lbs! An anonymous generous donor offered a matching challenge grant of up to $5,000! The children collected over 545 pounds of change!
March 6th was a day of joy. Students returned their JUST Water bottle coin collections, participated in water-related activities, an obstacle course, and surprises and prizes awaited them. We ended the day celebrating our achievements with an all-school dance party. It was a day devoted to fun, physical activities and philanthropy. JUST Water joined us to capture our efforts for their social media platforms.
The ripple effects of our small local efforts have the power to make big changes. It only takes a little to make a big difference.
Roots and Shoots — The Jane Goodall Institute
Hollywood Schoolhouse students, families, and community members are honored to support Dr. Jane Goodall.
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Their mission is to foster respect and compassion for all living things, to promote understanding of all cultures and beliefs, and to inspire each individual to take action to make the world a better place for people, other animals, and the environment.
The wonderful network of people at Roots and Shoots will help give our students the opportunity to volunteer alongside other students their age, joining an existing campaign cause, or they may choose to create their very own campaign, tackling an issue that is close to their hearts. Whichever they decide, they will have the chance to think critically, collaborate with others, and take action now.
For more information on this organization check out their website: rootsandshoots.org
