“Just the other day, a friend asked me, “So why are you still volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club? You’re a senior, and you’ll be graduating in a month. You don’t need any more community service hours, do you?” I was somewhat offended by the question. I mean, did she think I only volunteered my time just because it looked good? Although for some, volunteering may be a way to pad up college resumes, volunteering has become a way of life for me.
I’ve been working with the Boys and Girls Club in Pomona for about seven months but was involved in my community for as long as I can remember. I became a volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club after my guidance counselor at school posted a list of places to volunteer. I thought it would be a good opportunity to give service to a YMCA-like club that promoted the well-being and personal growth of kids who had limited opportunities. It would be a change of pace from my candy-striping at the local hospital.
I had never worked with kids before
I thought it would be hard for me to adapt to volunteering at the club and working with kids ages five to 12. I was mostly familiar with the hospital and convalescent home setting. Because some come from single, poor or busy families, The Boys and Girls Club gives them a place to go after school for recreation activities and help with homework.
I felt awkward at first because I felt like such a sell-out. Here I come from some private school in my little plaid skirt and navy cardigan uniform and expect to immediately have some impact in these kids lives, when in actuality, I didn’t have first-hand experience with kids. I’ve never babysat, tutored homework, or helped out at a clinic. All of a sudden, I was expected to do all these things.
Though I held back for a while, the children were so friendly and enthusiastic that I couldn’t help but love volunteering there. I finally realized that I didn’t need to know their experiences first-hand for me to relate to them. Pretty soon, I felt like a mentor to the little boy who wanted to know how I served a volleyball so well, then to the little girl who asked for help on her multiplication tables. This experience was worth more than the actual hours I received community service credits for.
Of all the activities I’ve been involved in at the club, none have been more exciting and fun than the Teen Expo, the first youth fair put on by the Boys and Girls Club.
I helped plan the Teen Expo
When the Teen Expo came to the Los Angeles County Fairplex in March, it was so busy and packed with visitors and volunteers frantically scurrying around that it could very well have been mistaken for a movie set. Stages were being moved around, booths were being put up and volunteers were busily making sure everything went according to plan. As a volunteer and part of the Expo’s teen planning committee, I saw the reassuring sight that justified all the hard work put into the event.
In keeping with our theme of “Bridging the Gap to a Better Tomorrow,” the Expo provided a diverse group of teens and parents with information on colleges, future careers, volunteer agencies and many other ways to improve the teen community. I visited every booth and found all the exhibitors to be helpful and informative. They ranged from abuse hotlines and local businesses to modeling agencies and local colleges. I listened to key speakers such as Stephen G. Wallace who is the chairman and CEO of SADD, Students Against Destructive Decisions and Michael Franzese, the founder of Breaking Out Entertainment.
There were so many sponsors and promotion banners, it was almost a sporting event. My favorite booth was Project S.I.S.T.E.R., an organization that provides a hotline for sexual abuse and teaches about domestic and sexual violence. Geared toward women, I thought it was the perfect example of what Teen Expo was all about: empowerment through knowledge.
It was a one-day event, but I was nervous. Not only did I hope everything went right, I also hoped I wouldn’t fall flat on my face during the Fashion Show. For months I was part of a teen board of planning and organizing, but my duty for the day was just to strut my stuff on the catwalk for the Expo’s Teen Fashion Show. Sounds easy? That’s what I thought. Well, not quite. The day started nice and easy. There was a steady flow of visitors despite the rain showers throughout the day: kids, teens and parents, and well, just other grown-ups that wanted to stop by and see what it was all about. Until, of course, it was time for the fashion show, and me and about 30 other volunteers had to start dressing for the show. My palms started sweating and visions of me tripping over one of my outfits danced in my head. What if I fell? What if I had a zipper open? What if I missed my cue? I calmed myself with the fact that it would be okay even if I did do any of those things because I was a volunteer, not a professional model. The main thing was that I was helping out and that I was having fun, too.
The Expo was about teens helping teens
When I was through listening to all the speakers at the Expo, I finally understood why I was there volunteering for the day. Before their speeches, volunteering seemed to be a mandatory thing for your college résumés, or to fill your service quota for school requirements. By being sponsored by educational programs that taught sex education, violence prevention, and health awareness, the Expo’s main goal was that of empowerment. The Expo helped teens like me (both volunteers and visitors) empower each other, with the help of the community, so that we, as tomorrow’s leaders, will have every opportunity to education and advancement. By helping each other, we begin to break down the barriers that separate us. Whether it be social, educational or cultural barriers, they are all broken down bit by bit every time someone decides to help.
This page on volunteerism is sponsored by Fox Filmed Entertainment”