Latin School of Chicago

22 L AT I N M A G A Z I N E Before the start of the meal, Will Pruitt, the volunteer coordinator and one of the founders of this small, grass-roots organization, welcomes guests and introduces his volunteers. "ese are students from the Latin School," Pruitt said. "You probably know some of them already. ey don't have to be here. ey could choose to be anywhere else. ey're good kids. One day, these kids are going to be the movers and shakers, and they'll remember coming here and know that folks who have needs are not so different from them." 2 Li'l Fishes is one of more than two dozen organizations that have been working with Latin as part of the Uptown Community Partnership, and Pruitt feels genuine affection for the students with whom he has worked. He fondly recalls the quiet boy who, after watching closely a few times, was able to basically run the kitchen for the years he volunteered, or the girl who showed up one day and cooked the best baked chicken anyone could remember, or the Latin family who came on Christmas to help out. For the Latin students who have volunteered at 2 Li'l Fishes repeatedly, the warm feelings are mutual. "Everyone here is really nice," said Danny DeGraff '16, who comes to 2 Li'l Fishes with a small group of his friends. "You see the same people, and it feels good when they start recognizing you." According to Sarah Bunger, Latin's service learning coordinator, the experience is especially enriching because of the lessons that Pruitt and Isaac Barrantine, the program's director, can teach students. Both men were at one time homeless and relied on organizations such as 2 Li'l Fishes. "ey have a very sympathetic, comprehensive understanding of why the people who are there, are there." Bunger believes students cannot walk away from their interactions with Pruitt and Barrantine without a more empathetic view. "It is pretty difficult to talk to Will or Isaac for any amount of time and think they are anything but amazing people. ey can dismantle any preconceived notions about homeless people much better than I ever could in a service learning class," she said. When Latin launched the Uptown Partnership in 2012, it was these kinds of connections and relationships – that serve both the needs of the neighborhood and provide meaningful opportunities for Latin students at all grade levels to engage with the community – that Head of School Randall Dunn and the school's Service Learning Committee envisioned. Shortly after he arrived at Latin, Dunn asked Bunger and Director of Student Life Tim Cronister to form a committee of faculty and staff that would review the school's service learning program, articulate what community service at Latin should look like and come up with road map for getting there. "We want this to be a school where service is embedded in our ethos, where it is an organic part of our curriculum," Bunger said, explaining the consensus to which the committee quickly came. "e ideal would be that when teachers get hired or when students apply, they know this is a service school." It's midday Sunday in the basement of the Preston Bradley Center in Uptown, and the lunch rush is under way. Baked chicken is roasting in the oven, mashed potatoes are on the stove, and volunteers are milling about setting tables, prepping the lemonade and cutting vegetables as they get ready to serve meals to about 65 hungry and at-risk neighbors of 2 Li'l Fishes. "One day, these kids are going to be the movers and shakers, and they'll remember coming here and know that folks who have needs are not so different from them." – Will Pruitt

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