January – December 2027
Learn the faith. Lead by serving. Grow together.
SERVE Academy is Mainstay's one-year formation program for volunteers, high-school mentees and their mentors: Foundations of Faith, The Servant Leader, and five skills, practised on real Mainstay events.
سَيِّدُ القَوْمِ خَادِمُهُمْ
“The leader of a people is the one who serves them.”
The Prophet Muhammad
One theme a month, three depths
Everyone works on the same monthly theme, so volunteers, mentees and mentors can learn from each other. Each level adds depth.
Every Mainstay volunteer, 18+
All Volunteers
2 hrs / month
A monthly Gathering, one faith reading, one skill tool, and a crew to serve with.
Year-end: Servant Volunteer Certificate
Apply as a volunteer →High-school students, grades 9–12
SERVE Mentees
4 hrs / month
Faith Circle twice a month, a mentor who knows you, and real responsibility on real events.
Year-end: SERVE Graduate
Apply as a mentee →Professionals and community leaders
SERVE Mentors
6 hrs / month
Three mentees, a crew to lead, and a Mentor Circle that keeps you growing too.
Year-end: SERVE Mentor Fellow
Apply as a mentor →What you learn
Three sources, woven into one year.
Faith, practice and ethics
Foundations of Faith: belief, practice and history, with the reasoning behind each doctrine and objections stated at full strength.
Servant leadership
The Servant Leader (Mainstay, 2026): theologically rooted, jurisprudentially grounded, morally anchored, spiritually connected.
Five skills
The year at a glance
Full curriculum →January
Called to Serve
Commissioning Day; 15 Sha'ban (~23 Jan)
February
Rooted
Ramadan begins (~8 Feb)
March
Spirit of Service
Laylat al-Qadr; Eid al-Fitr (~9–10 Mar)
April
Grounded in Law
Post-Ramadan reset
May
Anchored in Justice
Eid al-Adha (~16 May); Ghadir (~24 May)
June
Carriers of the Narrative
Muharram (~6 Jun); 'Ashura (~15 Jun)
July
Serving Safely
DRIVE retreat (dates TBC); Arba'een (~25 Jul)
August
In the Imam's Time
9 Rabi' I (~11 Aug); Mawlid (~19 Aug)
September
Commitment
ENGAGE preparation
October
Guardians Together
ENGAGE conference (early Oct, TBC); Fatimiyya (~14 Oct)
November
Integration
Fatimiyya (~2 Nov); Capstone Showcase
December
Commissioned
Graduation (11 Dec); Rajab begins