Growing up, future educator Ashley Davenport learned a pivotal lesson from the different experiences she and her younger brother had in their classrooms. She was more of a “book” learner—she thrived in traditional classroom settings—but her brother learned best when he could experience things.

Knowing the issue wasn’t about intelligence—she’s quick to praise her brother’s intellect—Davenport was motivated to learn about multiple intelligences and use that knowledge to help the next generation succeed. “I wanted to be that teacher that could help all kids learn in different ways,” says Davenport.

Now the Director of Student Activities at Holy Trinity Parish School in Louisville, Davenport is helping students succeed and find their own passions, whether it be in the classroom, on a team or through service-learning.

Davenport spent five years as a homeroom teacher at Holy Trinity before switching to her current role six years ago. She oversees all enrichment activities for the school’s 700 pre-kindergarten to Grade 8 students, including clubs, service-learning and academic teams.

Davenport uses WE service-learning resources with the youth on student council, who range from Grades 6 to 8. Knowing that not all children have the confidence to present at an assembly or the artistic ability to make posters, Davenport uses her knowledge of learning styles to pair students with the task that allows them to best contribute to a project.

Among their myriad service projects—they complete more than 30 every year—one of the main issues students take action on is poverty reduction. In 2015, almost 25 percent of youth under the age of 18 in Louisville lived in poverty. “Poverty is such a broad term,” says Davenport. “Clean water, hunger, clothing, school supplies, they’re all poverty initiatives. When you’re impoverished you need everything.”

Every October, the school runs a food drive that concludes with Grade 7 students taking the donations to local shelters and spending the day volunteering. The experience helps students understand that poverty is present in their community. “They see that people get one jar of peanut butter for a month, or only three cans of vegetables when they come to a food pantry. It’s not enough to feed a family,” says Davenport. “It’s always eye-opening.”

Each May, instead of throwing away old pencil cases, students are urged to donate or recycle their unneeded school supplies. Whatever kids don’t take home is sorted by the student council and donated to community organizations. The same goes for abandoned clothing in the lost and found and any unclaimed books from a reading swap.

When they delved into the issue of clean water, she reminded them of the crisis in Flint, Michigan, to show them that it’s not just a third-world problem. On a service trip to the Appalachia region, students helped install basic piping to bring clean water into a home.

“When we know more, we do more. When we know better, we do better,” she says. “Service-learning teaches us that we’re more alike than different. People don’t choose their struggles.” WE service-learning resources help Davenport relate issues to her students’ own lives and show them that they are part of a world beyond themselves.