Dawson believes it is important for students to contribute to their community through service to others. Community service is essential for developing an understanding of the interdependence of society, and students in all grades participate in community activities to broaden their awareness of volunteer opportunities.

Each year, individual divisions choose an area of concern on which to focus their community service activities. This year, Early Childhood students will focus on animal welfare, Lower School students will focus on hunger, and students in Middle School will focus on health.

Highlights from 2010-11 Community Service Activities:

• ECEC classrooms adopted an endangered animal species from the World  Wildlife  Fund (WWF), and the students studied their animal’s characteristics, habitat, diet and reasons why it is endangered.
  
• Early Childhood students collected items for animals in need at the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA), as were visited by a NSPCA representative, who educated them about caring for animals.
• The ECEC hosted a bake sale and silent auction fundraiser for the Those Left Behind Foundation. Each classroom painted a portrait of its adopted WWF animal, and these were sold in the silent auction, raising more than $1,900 for the Foundation.

• Lower School students collected backpacks and filled them with food for students at Rex Bell Elementary School, a Title 1 school in Las Vegas. These backpacks were distributed to Rex Bell students before long school breaks to ensure these students had healthy food while they were at home.
• Lower School students also collected items for the infants and small children who receive services from Safe Nest.

• Middle School students came together in support of St. Baldrick's, where more than 60 students, parents, and Dawson community members shaved their heads to help support childhood cancer research. The event raised more than $89,000, making it the largest Middle School fundraising event in the history of the St. Baldrick's Foundation.
• Middle School students raised more than $7,000 by participating in the Nevada Cancer Institute’s 5K run, and an additional $300 was added for the Middle School’s “Think Pink” day, where students purchased pink shirts to show support and bring awareness to breast cancer.
• Spearheaded by two Dawson Middle School students, the H20 Project raised funds to help provide clean water in Africa. Students sold snacks and refreshments after school to raise funds for Active Water to help build a well in an African village.