Phillips family to join for day of public service

Non sibi.

Any student or alumnus of Phillips Academy Andover can translate this Latin phrase into its English meaning - "not for self." It has been the prestigious prep school's motto for more than 200 years.

But this year, the simple phrase is taking on new significance for hundreds of Andover graduates all over the globe, as well as the 1,094 students currently enrolled, and the faculty and staff members who populate the campus with them. On Saturday, Andover alumni worldwide will roll up their sleeves and get to work as part of the school's inaugural Non Sibi Day, a global celebration of volunteer work and school spirit.

In Chicago, they'll staff a food bank. In New Haven, they'll fill backpacks for underprivileged children heading back to school. In Maryland, they'll help with the harvest at a fruit farm. In Nashville, they'll spruce up the grounds of an inner-city school. In West Africa, they'll hold a nutritional workshop. And in London, they'll honor a poverty-stricken community with a new mosaic in its parish church.

And much closer to home, within just a few miles of the school's ivy-covered buildings and expansive playing fields, current students who had arrived at campus just a week earlier will clean up local parks, run sports programs for local children, and assist at homeless shelters.

In recent years, service projects have become an integral part of high school education nearly everywhere. Andover's undertaking, though, is massive.

"It's not unique, but this kind of worldwide outreach is happening mostly at the university level these days," said Chad Green, director of community service at Andover. "I think we might be the first secondary school to do something like this."

Community service has been a formal component of an Andover education for at least the past two decades, Green said. "It's integral to the culture of our school. It's completely voluntary, but over the course of four years, 90 percent of the student body will participate in some aspect of our community service program."

Last year, as an Andover senior and general coordinator of community service, Andover native Becky Agostino helped plan the earliest stages of Non Sibi Day, with a particular focus on how to promote the event within the student body.

"In our discussions about how to best approach students about this, we came up with the idea of giving most students options about what kind of project to do, but decided we'd put all the freshmen together on one big project as part of their orientation. It's their first weekend at school, so it's an important chance for them to get to know each other."

Now a freshman at Duke University, Agostino said her thoughts will be with her Andover friends on Saturday, even though she won't be personally involved in a project.

The idea of turning the practice of community service from a local effort to a global one was born at a meeting held about a year ago, said Jenny Savino, associate director of alumni affairs. With a network of alumni that spans the world, the school knew it had the connections in place; it was just a matter of whether there was sufficient interest.

"So we sent out communications asking who was interested," Savino said. "And the response was absolutely magical. Hundreds of alumni expressed the wish to get involved with this undertaking."

But, even with the enthusiasm of its graduates, the school could not make this plan work without a certain amount of organizational infrastructure.

That's where Andy Mercy stepped in.

An Andover alumnus from the class of 1988, he is also the CEO and founder of a California software company called AngelPoints, which provides on-demand philanthropy management. His Web-based applications help hundreds of companies manage volunteerism and giving more effectively.

"Our core business is offering our product to corporate America," Mercy said. "But as part of our own philanthropy program, we grant our product to educational institutions so they can get more students, parents, faculty, and alumni involved in the community. This is part of a broader giving strategy we have of helping schools get out into the community using our tools."

Plans are in place for more than 100 service projects to be launched on Saturday, covering five continents and 24 states. Close to 2,000 volunteers, representing six decades of Andover classes, will lend their services.

Current students will work close to home. The freshman class will do a major cleanup on the banks of the Spicket River in Lawrence. Upperclassmen will run sports clinics for underprivileged youths on the Andover campus and will supervise a kids' art day at the Essex Art Center in Lawrence.

"As an alumnus, I was thrilled to be given this chance to give something back to Andover," Mercy said. "The school means everything to me. At the same time, it's always rewarding to see thousands of people get involved using our tools. Non Sibi Day will make a broad impact."

Mercy will roll up his sleeves for the day itself. He and his wife plan to participate in a service project at a San Francisco food bank.

"This is so much more than a one-day event," said Barbara Landis Chase, the head of the academy who will spend the day with Andover students working on an outdoor cleanup project at the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence.

"The day of service itself isn't so remarkable; it's the way that Non Sibi Day symbolizes what we talk about with our students day in and day out at Andover," she said. "And I believe this will be the first of many Non Sibi Days. The vividness of seeing people all around the country and the world sharing this deeply embedded value on behalf of our institution is extremely meaningful."

Nancy Shohet West can be reached at nancyswest@hughes.net.