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International School of Monterey Principal Jessica Allen, with an 8th grade student and Paola Beletti, showcase some participants from the school's volunteer program. Photo: Kelli Uldall I nternational School of Monterey's Principal Jessica Allen says the school's year-long community service project for 8th graders is a pivotal point of their education. "The Community Project puts into action what the kids have learned," she says. "We have a values-based curriculum and teach them to be open-minded and caring to themselves and their community." Some students have worked with Teddy Bears with Heart, a group that "comforts children in crisis, the forgotten elderly and the terminally ill." Others have created kits at Monterey County libraries to help chil- dren learn how to read. Many help out at Community Partnership for Youth (CPY) and work with younger students after school. Some tutor at local libraries. Other students looked EXXLIMVS[RPMZIWERH½KYVIHSYXLS[XSLIPT with unmet needs in the community. "Two boys recognized that both of their mothers had been diagnosed with cancer and that there weren't resources for children in their position," Allen says. "They reached out to other kids in the same situation and also created baskets for the mothers." After helping out over the course of the year and presenting to the school what they've done, %PPIR WE]W ±/MHW VI¾IGX ERH EP[E]W WYVTVMWI themselves with what they've learned and how much they want to continue to help." For more information on the International School of Monterey, go to www.ismonterey.org. International School Kids Put Values into Action B Y B R E T T W I L B U R SHORTCUTS GIVING BACK 80 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 2 1