When the final bell of the 2010-2011 school year rings, students will be left to their own devices – most having little to no school work occupying their time. Some students plan to devote that free time to giving back to the community.

Molly Grotha, freshman, currently volunteers in the nursery at Manchester United Methodist Church and will continue to do so over the summer.

“I volunteer because it feels good and I like kids,” Grotha said. “It helps you become a better person for later in life.”

Also helping kids, Kendra Rogers, junior, plans to volunteer at the Crisis Nursery Foundation for poverty stricken children when she isn’t working at her regular job at Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Co. Rogers discovered the program when her mother started to volunteer there with a friend whose niece had recently died.

Rogers said she is volunteering for the service hours, but also wants to help children and thinks it will be a rewarding experience.
“It helps the community, and it makes you feel good,” Rogers said.

No matter what kind of volunteering students plan to do over the summer, gifted resource teachers Vicki Kemp and Mary Parish,  encourage students to be a part of the community.

“I think it’s really good to be part of the community, and to help students find their higher purpose in life,” Kemp said.

Parish said volunteering through a program over the summer is a great way to try out a possible career and gain real-life experience.
“A lot of colleges and scholarships expect that,” Parish said. “It opens doors for awards of recognition and scholarship money and maybe a letter of recommendation from someone other than a teacher for colleges to look at.”

Both Kemp and Parish agreed students should find an area they’re interested in.

“Volunteering is a great way to try out a possible career and gain real life experience,” Parish said. “Find a cause you’re really passionate about.”

Students can find summer volunteering opportunities near them through sites such as www.volunteermatch.org or www.charitynavigator.org, or they could organize a charity event on their own.

Last year, seniors Courtnie Henson, Jordan Manno and Kelsey Sidney, as a part of the Junior Leadership Program, organized a program for disadvantaged youth. The trio asked local community centers what they could do and then gathered a group of friends to help volunteer to teach different workshops such as cheer and volleyball. Henson said her favorite part of organizing the event was getting to know the kids.

Henson said she would encourage other students to volunteer because for her, the experience was very fulfilling overall and suggests for students to make sure everything in their life isn’t centered on them.

Henson said she tries to live by what Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is what are you doing for others?”