Exeter Social Service Organization: Making a Difference Every Day

January 30, 2007

Jae, a senior and the head of ESSO's musical outreach program, with a friend in a local nursing home
Jae, a senior and the head of ESSO's musical outreach program, with a friend in a local nursing home

Exeter Social Service Organization – ESSO for short – is designed to promote community connections and provide services to a variety of people in the Exeter community and beyond. It is driven by students, who organize activities and propose new ways to have an impact on the community. The Homeless Vigil, coming up on January 31, is an annual ESSO-sponsored event.

This year, ESSO added several new programs: Hospice training, which will place Exeter students in local nursing homes; Cor Unum, a meal center in nearby Lawrence, MA; Homework Buddies, which connects Exeter students with local middle schoolers; and Little Lullabies, which invites young children of PEA faculty and staff to a weekly sing-along with Exeter students, pajamas and all.

"I love to work with children," says Elizabeth, a senior and head of the 65-strong ESSO Pen Pals program, which works with local elementary schools. "The younger children truly LOVE their pen pals. I am so happy that I can bring them this opportunity to have older friends at another school. I am always delighted to see the happiness of the younger pals coming through the pictures they draw, books they put together and their words. They truly form friendships. The older students get to remember what it was like to be young and carefree, and the younger students get to ask the PEA pals about things that they will soon be experiencing." 

"The objective of ESSO is to build community," says Laurie Loosigian, Exeter's community service coordinator. "Many of the best ideas for ESSO programs come from the students. This year's Hospice training program is a good case in point. A student contacted the local Seacoast Hospice to see if training was available. Because of her initiative, we now have 26 people – PEA students, faculty and staff, along with local people – actively being trained for hospice care," Loosigian continues. "Seacoast Hospice saw the opportunity to work with local high school students, and added staff to train them." Loosigian estimates that more than 600 Exeter students take part in ESSO programs in any given year.

ESSO supports over 50 activities, including:

  • Big Sib, Little Sib, which pairs Exeter students with local adoptive children of similar backgrounds
  • Musical outreach programs where Exeter students perform at local venues, including nursing homes and schools
  • School mentoring and tutoring programs, along with fundraising efforts for international schools
  • Linking Generations through Computers, which tutors middle-age and senior adults in computer skills
  • Clean-up programs for local, open-space areas

Interested in learning more?

See a full list of ESSO's clubs and activities …

Find out about the Homeless Vigil which takes place on January 31...

Learn about past ESSO events …