With the start of another school year, yet another group of
sophomores are looking for ways to fulfill their community
service hour requirement. Many community services
programs are offered at Princeton High School, focusing
on topics such as tutoring, health, and the environment.
However, there are also a variety of arts community service
programs at PHS.

The Arts Council club provides an opportunity for
students to work together on projects such as decorations
for the school and cards for senior centers or hospitals. For
example, during the winter, the club puts up snowflakes to
heighten the festivities.

In addition, the club also collaborates with the Arts
Council of Princeton by volunteering at events and camps
that the council hosts.

“During camps ... we assist with cleaning, with [art] skills,
and just talking with the children. Children as young as
kindergarten all the way through middle school [come to the camp], and our goal is just to spread
art [to them]. A lot of the people that are
in the club are interested in art, and we
want to give back to the community,”
said Vanessa He ’27, one of the leaders
of the Arts Council club.

While the Arts Council club focuses
on giving back to the community, it also
brings together community at PHS.

“While we [work together], people
are also talking. And I think that’s also
another way for people to connect with
peers, not just the whole community
itself,” said He.

Another arts community service at
PHS is School Beautification. A newly-
formed club, their goal is to improve
the appearance of
PHS in order to create a more welcoming
environment for both students and teachers.“Art creates a welcoming environment
because ... abstract shapes and colors
usually inspire creativity among people
and individuals. Seeing art every day
makes the space look less monotone
and [industrial-like]. Instead, the more
creative, welcoming environment would
help students be more productive,” said
co-leader Lucy Wang ’27.

The club also hopes to expand the scope
of their projects in the future.

“I also hope that in the spring we are able
to collaborate with some other community
service organizations to hopefully plant
flowers, or [install] plant pots inside the
school,” said Wang.

The service project Make Your Mark
has a different approach to helping the community. Focusing on creating crafts such as jewelry
and clay keychains, the program donates all the handmade
crafts back to the Rise organization.

Rise, a nonprofit social support project based in central
New Jersey, helps the community through food pantries,
thrift stores, and educational programs. In addition to
making crafts, the club also organizes volunteering and
crafts events for the community.

“We plan to bring arts and crafts opportunities to our
community through hosting crafting events at Princeton
Public Library,” said Jessica Zhang ’26, a co-leader of Make
Your Mark. “We [also] organize volunteering opportunities
at [Rise’s thrift store], helping to work and manage the store.”

Overall, while the main purpose of each community
service project is to give back to the community, members
also find themselves connecting and bonding with each
other and the community.

photo: Katherine Chen

Vanessa He ’27 and Kenzie Miller ’27 talk to a student about the Arts Council club.

A guide to arts-related community service programs

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Kenzie Miller's Work