Each year, the kindergarten program at the Mandell School hosts a wonderful community service project called Kids Grow New York. Since establishing a partnership with the Mandell School’s kindergarten program in 2008, MCC students have participated in the community service initiative. The project seeks to promote environmental consciousness in students from within the Upper West Side community by encouraging them to plant and care for trees. To support the project, MCC students create calendars featuring tree-themed artwork. Those calendars are then sold to raise funds for purchasing supplies to plant greenery and flowers in the area. In addition, the Mandell School hosts an annual Kids Grow New York Art Exhibition at which the tree artwork are featured. Each May, students from MCC, the Mandell School, and other public and private schools participate in a planting day. On this day, each school installs tree guards, and cleans and plants flowers in street tree pits around the respective schools.