Assisting in classrooms, handing out sweets, decorating the campus during the holidays. Volunteer opportunities at Campbell Hall allow families to bond with each other while simultaneously offering meaningful support to students and community members.
Dena Johnson was asked to serve as Parents’ Association President in 2021 by ex-President Alex Grane after she observed how successful Johnson’s Board of Black Heritage Families was. Founded by Katie Bull, the Parents’ Association aims to make parents feel more connected to the Campbell Hall community through volunteer opportunities, such as the uniform exchange and school-sponsored fundraisers. Johnson believes that, although students aren’t fully aware of the extent of parent volunteering, its positive impact does not go unnoticed.
“[The parent’s efforts] create an environment that the kids appreciate, but they don’t necessarily know or understand how it all comes together, [like] you walk out [of chapel] and there are treats,” Johnson said. “Those are the little things that [students] don’t realize affect [them], but they do. The parents get [that], and that’s why they want to [volunteer] in person.”
Cathy Berger is one of these in-person volunteers. She joined the Grandparents’ Association when her granddaughter entered Campbell Hall in sixth grade. As part of the Association, Berger is also associated with the Viking Care team, which gives community members extra support such as providing meals or transportation. Her favorite volunteer opportunity, however, is the Grandparents’ Association-sponsored Cookie Day.
“I look forward to [Cookie Day] every year,” Berger said. “I see my grandchildren come up [to me with] their friends, who I know really well after these years. [And] I know from my own grandchildren that the impact I have is that they are happy that I’m involved in the school, [which] means being involved with them. I like being connected to this community; [my family is] a very close-knit family, and Campbell Hall is [also] a close-knit community.”
Another kind of volunteering that is particularly special to Johnson is charity work. The Parents’ Association’s largest project, the Bagpiper’s Ball, is a ten month long endeavor whose proceeds go entirely towards financial aid. Additionally, the annual poker tournament, held in November, raised money for students to help finance things like the Europe art history trip. In 2023, the tournament raised up to $20,000.
Charitable work and on-campus volunteering are equally important to Johnson because she believes that students will similarly become charitable people when they witness others volunteer. As such, she wants students to be aware of the Parent’s Association’s outreach efforts to encourage them to emulate this.
“Administrative leadership, faculty [and] parents are the ones that set the tone for the kids, because the kids are just watching us,” Johnson said. “If they see us volunteering, and they see us coming in and hugging a classmate’s parents, that trickles down to them. The impact is there, but it is not overt.”
Amy Hansen, mother of Erik Hansen ‘25, believes that volunteering builds a special community among the parents, allowing them to connect over their shared appreciation for the school. Having been involved as a parent volunteer for 13 years — since her son was in kindergarten — Hansen noticed a shift in volunteering opportunities as her son entered middle school. Whereas she had previously come on campus three to four times a week to help teachers in a science lab or art activity, she found that secondary school volunteering opportunities were scarce. Despite the minimal opportunities, however, Hansen is always enthusiastic about helping out at events like Pie and Burger Day and faculty appreciation lunches, which are her way of showing gratitude to faculty and teachers.
“It’s more about parents supporting parents, [as well as showing] appreciation for teachers,” A. Hansen said. “[Volunteering] is more impactful [when it comes to] the appreciation aspect more [so] than just helping herd [a bunch of] children to make Christmas ornaments. [There are so many] opportunities to come together as parents, too, and realize that we’re all in the same boat.”
