by Meredith Abrams
Volunteering is an undeniably valuable experience for students, said counselor and cooperative education coordinator Rachel Sturma. Sturma coordinates the volunteering offerings list for this school on Naviance.
“Students can learn so much from community service,” Sturma said. “They can learn skills and talents that can be utilized later in life.”
Students at this school see the importance of volunteering as well. Fourteen clubs are devoted to community service, including 50 Cents to Save a Life, which raises money for the purchase of vaccines for underprivileged children in Africa, Asia and the Americas.
Senior Diana Seldin, a club officer, said that she got involved with the cause through her mother.
“I’ve had a lot of past experiences with community service, and my mom works with patients with neglected tropical diseases, who the vaccines are geared towards.”
She added that it is inspiring to help other people. “It is really important to volunteer if you can,” she said. “And raising money is so easy, and it’s always needed,” said Seldin.
Team PACT is another community service oriented club—it focuses on raising money for cancer research. Senior Hannah Stubblefield-Tave, an officer, said that if you can, there is no reason not to volunteer.
“It’s really something that’s easy to do,” she said. “If you are able to help, why not?
“If we didn’t help others, a lot of people would get left out of things—we all need to be contributing.”
Passion for a cause is another good reason to volunteer, according to senior Rebecca Jereza, an officer of Minga, a club that strives to end the child sex trade through raising funds and awareness.
“I believe in the cause, and I really want to help educate people about it,” she said.
Community service is also an important way for people to learn, Jereza said. “It builds a person’s character because they will always take something away—unselfishness, for example.
“Volunteering can also give you some experience in fundraising, advertising and other areas,” said Jereza.
Tutors in Action provides mentoring and academic help to local elementary school students, said senior Sarah Bajwa, a club officer.
“Because of us, students get mentored,” she said. “We can help the kids with their homework, answer questions about middle school or just be a friend for them.”
Bajwa said that community service is very important to her. “You really get a lot out of it,” she said. “There are so many different ways to volunteer, you can really get anything you want from it.