Rivers in Action Makes a Positive Impact on the Rivers Community and Beyond

Lucas Malo monitors this program as the Rivers’ director of community engagement. He initiated the program last year on a smaller scale, conducting nine service projects in November 2024 with student leaders. He noticed that the volume of projects underway at the same time meant that students had to pick and choose which to volunteer for, rather than being able to contribute to multiple causes that they were passionate about. So, this year, projects are spread across the 2025–26 school year to ensure that many causes students care about are showcased, allowing the student community to become involved. “We’re trying to eliminate all the barriers that would stop someone from volunteering,” Malo said. “There must be one student leader for the application, but you can work in a team, club, affinity, or collective group if selected.”

Another aspect that makes this program unique is that students volunteer alongside Rivers parents and professional community members. Any member of the community is welcome to give their time and effort to a cause. Malo hopes to expand involvement in the future by also involving Rivers alums. “I truly find it rewarding to see what inequities our students address,” said Malo. “It’s also interesting to see what causes parents and faculty are also passionate about.” The three core values of Rivers in Action are “direct action,” “student leadership,” and “community building.”

Projects are approved by a peer review process on a rolling basis. An interested student submits a project proposal, which is reviewed by the Community Engagement interns and Malo before being approved. Interns consider the project’s impact, the proposed recruitment strategy, and leadership potential. Once approved, the project is given a $100 budget, and the student leader or leaders are paired with a faculty advisor who shares their passion for the cause. 

The first project this year was led on a Sunday in October by Alex Recht ’26, who brought a team of 14 volunteers to pack and deliver groceries to families in the Allston-Brighton area through the organization Family Table. Recht worked closely with Family Table to make the project a success. “I handled planning by connecting with Family Table ahead of time and going back and forth with them to ensure everything was organized and we knew exactly what was needed,” he said. 

Recht had volunteered with Family Table before and appreciates the organization’s commitment to supporting families in need of kosher food. “Food insecurity looks different in every community, and meeting specific dietary needs adds another layer that often gets overlooked,” he said. “Delivering the groceries and seeing the direct impact made the whole experience feel meaningful,” he added. Recht thanks Malo and Elisa Goldsmith, the language department chair and a French teacher at Rivers, for their support and hands-on involvement throughout his project.

In November, Annika Vittal ’28 led the second project, during which she and other volunteers created care packages for in-treatment scoliosis patients at Boston Children’s Hospital. Vittal was treated at Boston Children’s since she was diagnosed with stage four thoracic lumbar scoliosis in June 2022. “I was in sixth grade when, during a soccer practice, my hip suddenly caved in from under me,” Vittal said while speaking about her cause at an Upper School assembly meeting. “Over the last few years, I’ve been through bracing as well as a spinal fusion surgery where metal screws and rods were put into my back. Many doctors weren’t sure I’d ever be able to play sports again or have a normal school life,” she said. “And even now, over a year after intensive care, the side effects of my treatment still affect my life today.”

Since Vittal understood the pain of long treatments and recovery firsthand that scoliosis brings, she wanted to give back to other children experiencing that pain by creating care packages. “A lot of people go into this process unaware of what the journey is like,” she said. “This is where our kits come in. They will stay in treatment facilities of spinal specialists and be filled with helpful information, stress-relief items, and time-passing activities for long hospital visits.” Vittal was incredibly pleased with the turnout on the day of her project and said she was happy that she and her volunteers “were able to impact so many children’s experience fighting the disease.”

Looking to the future, seven additional Rivers in Action projects have already been approved, and applications for new projects are still open.

Middle School students Alice Finn ’31 and Myosi McClerary ’31 will run a poetry workshop at 2LifeCommunities Leland Home in Waltham from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 7. They’re looking for volunteers interested in poetry and who enjoy discussing the power of words. No poetry writing experience is necessary, and volunteers can sign up here.

Lily Soares ’27 will work with the Weston Art & Innovation Center to connect youth (under 18) with special support needs to their programs from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. on February 22, March 1, and March 8. Volunteers will be paired 1:1 with a student in grades 6 to 12 to explore painting, drawing, crafts, and more. Other volunteer roles include assisting with workshops or supporting logistics. Parents and professional community members are also encouraged to volunteer to help with parent programming. Members of the Rivers community can sign up for this volunteer project here. 

Later this year, Oliva Standish ’27 will work with the Boys and Girls Club and Pine Street Inn. Volunteers will help decorate boxes and boards to host their own collection drive, addressing food insecurity and building empathy. Parker Fryberger ’26 will organize a unique fundraiser for Alzheimer’s in a faculty versus students basketball game. The game will be played by athletes and non-athletes alike. She will also conduct a monthlong awareness education program on Alzheimer’s and plans to connect students with seniors who have memory loss. Other projects in the works center on women’s access to Latino health care, recreational programming for adults with disabilities, and supporting animal shelters. 

 

Recht and Vittal both have advice for future Rivers in Action leaders. “The true point of this project is to educate [others] and allow our school to interact with different parts of our identities and not just fund the groups we want to impact,” Vittal said. She encourages the community to choose empathy and to continue to learn about circumstances different from their own. Recht continued, “Choose a project that you genuinely care about. It makes the whole process easier and a lot more rewarding. Don’t hesitate to reach out to organizations early; they’re usually excited to help, and clear communication with everyone makes everything smoother.” He also advised future leaders to be wary of the time crunch while coordinating a project on a community-wide scale.

Malo urges students to continue applying with their own project ideas. “Awareness is as important as actual volunteering,” he said. “All leaders have a personal connection to the cause, and they now have the means to bring this cause to the attention of the community. [Rivers in Action] is something that doesn’t already exist in the Rivers community. It’s not a club or a class doing this work, but a connection of multiple communities around an issue that’s important to the student.”

Malo concluded, “This program is meant for students to share their personal interests, passions, and inequalities that they see in the world and come together around this shared issue along with their peers, parents, and teachers.”