Spring made itself felt with sunshine and daffodils on Friday, as Our Sisters’ School held its first weekly Soup-a-Thon drive-thru to provide soup to vulnerable families.

The non-sectarian independent middle school — located behind the Tifereth Israel synagogue right on the Dartmouth/New Bedford line — normally serves a tuition-free education to girls from low-income families in the greater New Bedford area.

But on Friday, it served up free soup instead, as a handful of masked volunteers (and two dogs) welcomed students and staff to the parking lot with music and fresh-picked daffodils. 

They handed out take away containers of soup to each family, with garnishes and baguettes to go with it.

The school is run with help from a large number of active volunteers, many of whom hail from Dartmouth and Westport. 

Started in 2008 with a mission to provide life skills, support, and an academically challenging education to economically disadvantaged girls, OSS currently has 63 students. 

The volunteers gave out 12 gallons of soup on Friday, including beef stew, lentil, butternut squash, and kale and chourico, all homemade. Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge donated bread to go with the meal.

“A lot of these girls depend on two meals a day from the school,” noted volunteer Suzanne Church of Westport, who organized the event. “We also have Americorps teachers, so I thought there must be some people who are food-challenged with school being closed.”

Music during the event was provided by teacher and DJ Angel Diaz, who called out greetings to each car that pulled up.

Director of Advancement Georgiana Goulding of Dartmouth picked daffodils to hand out as well. “I picked 300 daffodils today,” she said. “It’s a little spot of sunshine to cheer everybody up!”

Due in part to coronavirus concerns, volunteers at the event were limited to a handful of people. Although Founding Trustee Kate Dabney of Dartmouth was unable to make it on the day, she — like many who couldn’t attend — contributed ingredients to the soupmaking effort.

“That’s the kind of community it is,” she noted. “It’s amazing the amount of volunteer opportunities there are.”

“It becomes a great place to just give of yourself,” she added. “I get more out of it than I put in!”

“I think it’s amazing,” said Goulding of the event. “Our girls and their families are amongst the most vulnerable during a time like this.”

Because the school only accepts girls, Goulding noted, it isn’t eligible for state funding, instead relying completely on private donations and foundation grants.

During the pandemic, she said, the school is providing support including groceries and gas cards to their families. “We’re just here for our families and our girls,” she noted.

“We hope to do this every week,” she added. “As long as there’s a need, we’re gonna keep doing it.”