Need In Deed
Need in Deed
Connecting the classroom with the community
“A great idea”
Someone once called Need in Deed (NID) a “great idea.” Here’s why:
Students learn best when they can make connections to the world around them. That’s why Need in Deed starts with student voice. The students in each class define a community issue around which they then become advocates and take action.
Need in Deed students experience subject matter and skills not as siloed abstracts but as powerful tools that can be used to effect change. The authentic, community-focused learning that students experience in Need in Deed’s supportive classrooms fosters both academic gains and habits and attitudes that lead to a lifetime of civic participation.
Become involved
In 2025, St. Martin’s named Need in Deed as a covenant partner. This means the church actively seeks ways for parishioners to become engaged in supporting NID-trained teachers and the students they serve in classrooms across the city. Here are some of the ways parishioners can become involved:
Attend NID’s annual educational equity forum
For the past two years NID has hosted a citywide forum for citizens concerned about the welfare of Philadelphia public school children. This year’s forum (2025) focused on Philly Schools as Humane Spaces, with a particular focus on especially immigrant, LGBTQ+ and Black and Brown children.
Be a community partner
Lend your gifts and talents in supporting NID students with their service-learning project. This can range from sharing your experience about an issue the students have chosen as the focus of their yearlong project (i.e. gun violence, animal abuse, food insecurity, water pollution) – learning partner; to offering support for the students’ focus on advocating for change – service partner. To let us know the gifts and experiences you’d be willing to share with a NID classroom, please contact Barbara Dundon (see Parish Directory) or call the office at 215-247-2477 and ask to leave a message for Kate Maus.
Affirm NID students’ yearlong efforts by attending Shout Out—a citywide celebration
Every May students representing NID classrooms across the city assemble at the Arch Street Meeting House (320 Arch Steet) to celebrate and be celebrated for their accomplishments. Classroom partners and friends are encouraged to attend.
Support NID teachers by attending NID’s annual Soirée
The Soirée is NID’s annual celebration of teachers. It is also the organization’s primary fundraiser. Typically held in December at a Center City location, the event highlights the accomplishments of dedicated teachers who have supported their students that year in completing their service-learning project.
A history springing from St. Martin’s
In 1987, three St. Martin’s parishioners -- Whim Lynch, Mary [Alford] Hopkins and Nikki Wood, came together to found Need in Deed, a nonprofit focused on putting students at the center of their service-learning experience. Their instinct was that young people would be more engaged in experiences of service if their voices drove the process.
Now, almost 40 years later, guided by NID-trained teachers, the organization is operating in public schools across the city, empowering students to make connections between the world they see around them, the issues they care about, and the skills and concepts of the school curriculum.
NID website: needindeed.org
