Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2006, Page 31

Description:	ah WorkajUjdMQPayBy Betsy HeadStudents at Bloomington South volunteer for many differentcauses, but they all have the same goal in mind: helping others.Volunteering is not only a great way to give back to the community,but it can also be a lot of fun. My favorite part of volunteering atthe Community Kitchen is meeting new people and listening totheir interesting stories, sophomore Rene Lloyd said. Studentsvolunteered at a large variety of places that ranged fromWonderlab to Middle Way House. Many of the agencies inBloomington would not be able to provide as many serviceswithout student volunteers.These volunteers found that they did not only helped otherpeople, but it was also beneficial for them as well. Sophomore BenRiggins volunteered at Backstreet Missions and found that he feltgood after volunteering.Freshman Rosalyn Sternberg helped teach classes thatdeveloped young girls writing skills. It was cool because I helpedthe girls have a safe place where they could express themselves,commented Sternberg. Senior Alin Chipara also felt like he was doingit for the kids.Whether students volunteered with children, adults, or seniorcitizens, it was a great way to spend ones time. Even though studentshad very busy schedules, many were still able to give back to thecommunity though service. I like knowing that I am helping peoplewho are not as fortunate as I am, said freshman Carrie Vandoren,who volunteered at Middle Way House. Whether theyre feeding thehomeless or teaching young girls how to write, South students aremaking impressions and creating memories that will last a lifetime.Mr-ofo V ir v f • • j1 , ^ ^ •■u^_ - ■1* H(Left) Junior JessicaMarietta plays a variantof Connect Four withher little brother. BigBrothers, Big Sisters wasa popular volunteeringvenue for Southstudents, most of whomparticipated in the Belland Beyond program.(Above) Helping Hands clubmembers freshman James Ray,freshman Rachel Chang,senior Lauren Weatherall,and freshman Man Welton,gather at a meeting afterschool to plan their nextendeavor. The club was a greatway for volunteering rookies to getinvolved.You wouldnt believe how manyteens volunteer. Just check outthese statistics:Youth volunteering is up 12% over thelast 10 years.Teenagers volunteer 2.4 billion hoursannually.Out of 13.3 million youth, 59.3% volunteer an average of 3.5 hours per week,versus 49% of the adult population volunteering an average of 4.2 hours.70% of young people ages 15-21have participated in activities tohelp strengthen their community at some point in their lives.SOURCE: Youth Service America Statisticshttp://www.ysa.org/nysd/statistics.htmlVolunteering imrm^jm
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/7804
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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