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Program Highlights

Home » Student Life » Distinctive Programs » Community Engagement » Community Partnerships

Menlo’s Upper School Community Partnerships

We emphasize the power of relationships and develop programs and events that provide reciprocal benefits for students and community partners. Life Moves, Taft Elementary School, Special of Olympics, Boys and Girls Club, Peninsula Bridge, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, Stanford Blood Center.

Special Olympics
 Menlo students with a Special Olympics athlete in 2019. For nearly 30 years, Menlo School has hosted the Special Olympics Northern California Track & Field Meet. Over 250 Menlo student volunteers from both the Middle and Upper School come out to volunteer at the games and support the more than 100 special athletes.  This event usually takes place in April. 

Life Moves
 The Community Cooks Program supports Life Moves’ Maple Street Shelter and First Steps for Families by providing a home-cooked meal for homeless and low-income individuals and families on the peninsula.

“Our Community Cooks experience could not have been a more positive one for everyone involved. While the cooking component was a lot of fun, our time at First Steps for Families was a gift to all of us—we were able to have a good interchange with the residents, feed them a healthy and hearty home-cooked meal, and listen as they told their stories.”
—Menlo Parent

Taft Elementary School in Redwood City

  • The Holiday Family Support Program
    A partnership between Menlo and Taft Elementary, this program is designed to provide holiday gifts to families with tight budgets. Upper School Advocacy Groups and Families adopt some 60 to 80 Taft Families each December.  
  • Literacy Day
     Centered around literacy and mentoring, Menlo ninth graders spend the day volunteering at the local elementary school, helping homeroom teachers, leading read-aloud lessons, and running games at recess and during lunch.
  • TAFT Tutoring Center
     Every Tuesday Menlo provides a group of 20 fourth and fifth graders from Taft Elementary School with one on one math tutoring.

“I’ve loved being a part of the Taft Math program for the past two years—it was an extremely rewarding experience and I hope the program continues to thrive. Being able to help my student progress over the year and help her look at math in a different light is something that is important to me and I would definitely recommend it to Menlo students!”
—Menlo Class of 2017 Graduate

Peninsula Bridge
Peninsula Bridge transforms the lives of highly motivated, low-income students by preparing and supporting them for success in college preparatory high school programs and four-year colleges.

  • Summer Bridge
    Menlo runs a five-week summer program for highly-motivated fifth-grade students from low-income families.
  • Peninsula Bridge Fun Run
    A spirited community event where participants from peninsula independent schools join forces to walk or run to raise awareness and support for Peninsula Bridge.  The next run takes place on September 13, 2020, virtually.  Register at the link above!

Stanford Blood Center
Knight Vision, Menlo’s community engagement club, sponsors a Fall and Spring blood drive each year for the students, faculty/staff, and parents.

Boys’ and Girls’ Club of the Peninsula
Menlo students volunteer as Power Hour Tutors and lead elective programs such as Lacrosse and Robotics at the various sites.