Our Programs

Public Service

Founded as a charity school in 1709, Trinity began with a clear purpose: to provide educational access to the city’s poor, addressing issues of urban poverty and inequality by creating a school that would connect students to the needs of the city.

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  • "We believe in the dignity and humanity of every individual

    as we work for a more just world." 
Today, Trinity students meet our mission’s calling to “give generously and joyfully to others” as they “live fully in our city.” Unique amongst schools locally and globally, Trinity’s Office of Public Service provides innovative, weekly opportunities for students to begin to know themselves in the world by connecting meaningfully with our community inside and outside of school.

Trinity's public service program finds its focus in the diversity of the Upper West Side. Rooted in 17 Community Circle partners (please click links listed to the right for descriptions), Trinity's K-12 program allows students to connect hands-on, experiential work locally to larger, systemic global issues such as hunger and homelessness, educational access and inequality, the challenges faced by the elderly, the differently abled, and the environment.

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  • Guiding Principles

    The Office of Public Service’s five enduring principles encapsulate Trinity’s innovative approach to service learning

    1. Trinity’s Community Circle partners are the foundation of K-12 service learning.
    2.  Trinity’s history and mission, with its focus on serving our city’s poor, guides this continued work.
    3. We are guided by the idea of accompaniment, or walking with others and put relationships first.
    4.  We believe in the power of friendship as the foundation of social change.  
    5. We encourage students to see the city as school, to connect their academic, school-centered lives to genuine human and community needs.  
    Learn more about our service learning curricula by grade, weekly work with our 17 Community Circle Partners and volunteer opportunities for all members of the Trinity community by clicking on Join Us, Social Impact and K-12 Service Learning on the top right corner of this page. 

  • Weekly Service Work

    Middle and Upper School students have opportunities to work with our Community Circle partners during and after school.  7th and 8th grade students have the opportunity to engage in weekly service work after school at the DeHostos Community Center and Goddard Early Childhood (formerly known as Head Start). Please click here for more information and to register. Upper School students can work weekly with our Community Circle partners both during and after school. Please email Kai Williams for more information and registration details.

  • Volunteer Events

    We invite all members of the Trinity community to join us for a number of volunteer events. Lower Schoolers must be supervised by an adult.
      • Trinity Advent Sandwich Lines & Food Pantries
      • Bingo Nights
      • Community Drives
      • Garden Parties at 120 West 94th Street
      • Holiday Breakfast at DeHostos Community Center
      • Planting Beds at West Side Community Garden
      • Trinity Thanksgiving
      • Valentine’s Day Card Making

    • Links of Interest

    • The Service Team

      • Kim Vinnakota - Director of Public Service
      • Faculty Service Team
        • Chaztery Cruz, Events
        • Jen Donovan, Science & Sustainability
        • Chris Luthi, Math
        • Luisen Elias Ruiz - Language Ambassadors
        • Marya Schock, Humanities

    Community Circle Partners

    2019-20 Year End Review

    Community Circle Partners

    Three-in-One: Internal Initiatives

    139 West 91st Street | New York, NY 10024-1326 | (212) 873-1650
    Located on the Upper West Side of New York City, Trinity School is a college preparatory, coeducational independent school for grades K-12. Since 1709, Trinity has provided a world-class education to its students with rigorous academics and outstanding programs in athletics, the arts, peer leadership, and global travel.