Yaxche’s social justice program is based on the belief that our students need not only a firm grounding in academics but also practice in using those academics to promote a democratic society in which all participate fully. Through community service, Yaxche students learn about themselves and others by working in different neighborhoods and institutions. They organize activities, provide assistance, and discover and implement solutions to real-life problems. As a result, students can strengthen their own self-esteem, solidify their capacity to feel empathy for others, and deepen their understanding of what it means to be a responsible participant in a democratic society.

Guided by faculty and parent assistants, these community service projects have a lasting impact on students. Students learn that each of us can take risks, turn despair into hope, and make a difference. The relationships created and the services provided are sources of strength and vital connection to community.

Student collaboration, development, and participation in community service projects have included projects such as visiting and reading to disabled students; volunteering at local preschools; litter cleanups in the surrounding neighborhoods; cooking meals and distributing them to the homeless; and collecting books, coats, and money for our local domestic violence shelter, Community Against Violence.

One recent event was the “Out of Your Gourd” benefit for Shared Table of Taos, a nonprofit organization that provides for basic human needs in Taos County including the distribution of food commodities, personal health care items, books, and blankets. Shared Table also provides emergency assistance for medical, dental, and pharmaceutical needs, as funds allow. Yaxche middle school students painted gourds, creating their own unique works of art, which were sold alongside nationally known artists’ gourd renditions at a benefit auction. The inside “scoop”: Yaxche students’ gorgeous art raised over $27,000 for the Shared Table.