At Nightingale, students navigate balancing their classes, coursework, club time, and athletic schedules—in addition to engaging in numerous extracurriculars. It’s not uncommon for students to discover a new passion and even start a club at school, often ones that are specifically dedicated to helping others. These student-led initiatives have inspired Nighthawks across divisions to get involved and connect with one another, all the while giving back to both local and broader communities.

Packing Products: Days for Girls

While investigating period poverty for a history paper, senior Abby S. ’24 was shocked to learn that, globally, one in five women misses school or work because of inadequate menstrual products. Armed with this knowledge, Abby and fellow senior Bri S. were inspired to co-found Nightingale’s Days for Girls student club.

“Globally, the DfG non-profit has partnered with developing communities and distributed three million inconspicuous, washable menstruation kits in 145 countries. I am honored they were willing to work with Nightingale.”

In December, a few dozen Upper School students gathered in the commons to pack DfG kits, complete with hygienic products such as a reusable shield, reusable liners, disposable pads, a washcloth, a bar of soap, a DfG period education/care and use sheet, wipes, a carrying pouch and washing bag, and a drawstring bag. Earlier this spring, the group had already surpassed their goal for the year of assembling over 2,500 menstrual products. Nightingale welcomed Days for Girls Founder Celeste Mergens to their Health & Wellness Day in January to learn about her background and what inspired her to found the organization. Later that day, Upper Schoolers gathered in the library for a special Days for Girls workshop, led by Abby S.

“I was inspired to incorporate Days for Girls into Health and Wellness Day programming because menstruation is a remarkably important aspect of Nightingale student health. Unfortunately, it is not considered as important in other parts of the world. To combat period poverty and shatter stigmas in broader society, we have to start close to home. I am so happy so many students were willing to attend workshops and learn more about Days for Girls. The more Nightingale knows, the more the world knows,” she said.

Creating Comfort for Furry Friends: Pillows for Paws

In 2016, then-Class IV student Isabella C. ’25 began volunteering at Pillows for Paws, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing comfort to animals in need. Founded by Jen Halpern, aunt of Olivia H. ’34 and Grace H. ’36, Pillows for Paws “[provides] comfort and love to NYC shelter cats, dogs, rabbits, and guinea pigs. The group does this by donating beds, blankets, toys, treats, medical supplies, food, Kuranda beds, plus many more enrichment items to our city shelters on a monthly basis,” as stated on their website. This seemed like the perfect fit at the time as Isabelle had been searching for hands-on volunteering opportunities.

“I wanted to actually be doing something. I love animals, and I really wanted to be able to help them,” Isabella reflected. During COVID-19, the organization lost their meeting space. However, after the blue doors reopened, Isabella was inspired to bring Pillows for Paws events to Nightingale.

Since then, students in Pillows for Paws have hosted Crafting Cafes to create blankets and beds for animals in need, in addition to organizing drives to collect linens, pet food, and toys for donation to the Animal Care Centers of NYC. Students make the most out of their creations by using materials that are reused or recycled.

“Pillows for Paws let me actually make a change when I wanted to,” Isabella said. “I wasn’t restricted by an age limit like many volunteering opportunities are. If I’m being honest, I would have tried to bring them into any high school I ended up going to, but I think Nightingale is a perfect place. I love how eager Lower and Middle School students are to help.”

Since March of 2023, Pillows for Paws club members have donated approximately 450 no-sew blankets, 300 pull toys, and 2,000 cat kickers—made by members of our community—in addition to many other animal care items donated at events, History Faculty and Pillows for Paws Advisor L.E. Hartmann, PhD, shared.

“You might think I am most proud of the contributions we have been able to make to support shelter animals, and I am—that is extremely important. Comfort and enrichment items help greatly to calm animals awaiting a home and increase the likelihood they will be adopted,” Dr. Hartmann said. “What I am most proud of, however, is the way our students enjoy the act of crafting and spending informal time together with students from other divisions and from the PFP community. Our youngest participants are in Kindergarten and our oldest volunteer is in her 90s. People of all ages working together is such a healthy and natural way to build community while doing something good. It makes me extremely proud of Nightingale.”

Making Meals: The Food Waste Recovery Task Force

Founded in December by community engagement board co-representatives Sophia S. ’25 and Eleanor K. ’25, the Nightingale food waste recovery task force is a student-led organization that aims to combat food insecurity in the community. Just before winter break, the task force hosted its first event where students packaged foods to be delivered to a Grassroots Grocery community fridge, one of eight community fridges across the boroughs of Manhattan.

“The task force’s goal is twofold; our first goal is to help redistribute food waste from the Nightingale cafeteria to the community fridge on 92nd and 1st Avenue,” Sophia said. “New York City wastes 3.9 million tons of food each year, and 20% of this waste comes from restaurants and school cafeterias. Our second goal is to address food insecurity in our immediate neighborhood. People are struggling daily with food insecurity in our community, and we can help.”

Ellie added: “[Our goal] part of a larger movement to eliminate the 170 million metric tons of gas emissions released by food waste in the country each year. We aim to direct the food that is eligible to eat into people’s homes rather than to landfills.”

Last year, the duo partnered with a volunteer program at Brick Church to cook dinners once a week for the Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter (NCS), which provides housing and educational programs for the homeless on the Upper East Side.

“The food waste recovery task force was a natural extension of this program to reach more people in our community,” Sophia explained.

This spring, students had delivered upwards of 75 meals to the community fridge every week, with the goal to deliver 1,000 meals by the end of the school year. This endeavor provided the community engagement board with an opportunity to partner with the environmental board to address food waste and sustainable packaging.

“The food recovery task force stood out to me as a way I could get involved with fighting food insecurity and climate change in both our school community and the larger Upper East Side neighborhood,” said Julia G. ’25, environmental board co-head. “On top of that, it is a fully student-led organization. I find that the food recovery task force is an empowering group of students who have set their sights on actively addressing the problems they found within their community, and it inspires me every time we meet.”

In April, Ellie, Sophia, Orli, and Julia hosted a drive to collect gently-used and clean plastic takeout containers from Nightingale families in order to sustainably package the meals they deliver weekly, without absorbing the extra cost and waste of ordering packaging.

“Without Sophia and Ellie’s diligence and advocacy, I never would have known how much food we as a community threw away at the end of each week. To become a more sustainable community, it is important to think creatively about our school and personal consumption and to develop actionable steps to change old habits for greener ones…These initiatives are important because they encompass our school values of sustainability, community engagement, and student leadership,” Orli A. ’25 reflected. “We are making a difference in the Schoolhouse by reducing waste, to the people who utilize the community fridge by providing meals, as well as inspiring our peers to make change where necessary.”