Getting Back by Giving Back

From helping at soup kitchens, to spending time at a local church or volunteering at an animal shelter, students across the building are putting time into helping others. Many students volunteer their time with organizations both through the school and outside of school.

All the time students put into helping others can actually have positive effects for the students. A series of studies conducted by Jeffery Burr through the University of Massachusetts, Boston showed that volunteering can lead to better mental and physical health.

The studies found that volunteering can help bring people together and make them feel less lonely. Volunteering also reduces stress and increases physical activity, promoting better physical health. All of these things combined can lead to more positive overall health. 

Since spending time volunteering can be beneficial both for those in the community and for students it’s no surprise students across the school are spending their free time volunteering.

School Based Service

One opportunity for students to volunteer is through the club Kansas Association for Youth (KAY) a club that allows students to get involved in leadership through community service. 

President of the club, junior Jordan Powell believes that helping others brings a new meaning to leadership for those involved. 

“I think that when you do service for others, you’re also helping yourself,” Powell said. “I think that it’s very helpful for someone’s character and also leadership if you’re putting yourself in a position to help others only for their benefit.”

While KAY allows students the option to volunteer, other activities require service hours, such as National Honor Society (NHS). 

NHS requires 10 hours of service each semester for all members. NHS provides tons of opportunities, whether that be helping with a charity 5K or cleaning up trash after a football game. While some might think requiring service defeats the point of volunteering, NHS president Emma Ronning doesn’t see it that way.  

“I think it’s important [to require service] because it motivates you to help other people,” Ronning said. “I think everyone should do community service whether or not you’re in an Honor Society that requires you to, because it’s good to give back and it promotes helping everyone if we have a club that requires it.” 

Similarly, senior Brynn Shideler believes that requiring hours is just a way to get students to be more connected to the people around them.  

“I think it shapes our students, because you can be great on paper and you can have great grades, but if you don’t put the efforts out into your community, then I don’t think it makes [you] as well rounded of a person,” Shideler said.  

There are plenty of clubs that do service activities but there are also classes students can take where they can volunteer both inside and outside of school.  

Similarly to NHS Jaguar Leadership Corps (JLC) requires an application and is a huge commitment for students, but that commitment pays off. JLC does activities to support the school, as well as volunteering time to help the community. Recently, JLC has worked to provide donations to the DeSoto Food Pantry as well as delivering books to elementary schools in Kansas City, Kansas. 

Shideler, who is also a part of JLC, enjoys seeing the influence of the work she does on the community. 

“My favorite [thing] is seeing the direct impact,” Shideler said. “My favorite thing that I’ve ever done is going and giving books to school kids, because you could immediately tell that they were so thankful and so grateful.”

Ronning also relishes in experiencing the effect volunteering can have on others as well as herself.   

“I like getting to actually see the impact of what I’m doing,” Ronning said. “You can do a drive and donate things, and it can be out of sight, out of mind. But when you actually see in person that something you’re doing is making people happy I feel like that’s a big motivator to want to keep doing it.” 

Another more recent option for students is the Sociology of Community Service class taught by Kirsten Jones. The class allows students the opportunity to leave the school and volunteer at an organization of their choice. 

Jones decided to take the class over because she believes giving students the chance to get outside of their comfort zone is beneficial.    

“I think it can be really hard to think outside of yourself because of all the pressure,” Jones said. “So I think to have an opportunity built into your day where you have to reflect on other people’s situations and how you can work to benefit something bigger than yourself is really therapeutic for students.” 

Being able to reflect on her work in her community is a large part of community service for Shideler. 

“There’s so much that happens in our community and there are always people needing help outside of us,” Shideler said. “If we can use our time, resources and opportunities that we have been given, then I think that our skills, talents and efforts can be put to good use.”

Volunteering Volition

Alongside clubs run through the school, many students also spend their time with activities outside of the school who supply service to broader organizations.

An activity that many students at the school participate in is Girls Scouts. Through Girl Scouts people are able to learn new skills and provide service. Older Girl Scouts often work with younger troops to help them and earn community experience. 

Junior Eden Christian has been participating for many years and enjoys spending time with younger girls to inspire them as they once inspired her. 

“I love working with the younger girl scouts,” Christian said. “I think it’s important for girls to be Girl Scouts because it’s such a good way to find people. I like encouraging them, because when I was a little Girl Scout, I’d always love the older Girl Scouts.”  

Christian also enjoys the feeling of gratification after she does service for others.   

“I feel fulfilled when I do community service, I feel good about myself,” Christian said. “[Volunteering] also allows me to interact with people in my community, which I enjoy, and just know I did something good.” 

Another organization that is similar to Girl Scouts is 4H. 4H is an organization that centers around four pillars: head, heart, hands and health. These four pillars include lots of leadership and community service. 

Junior Barron Fox has been involved with the group for many years, even serving as the president of his club last year. Fox thinks that students should get involved with groups outside of school to get a broader scope of volunteer work. 

“Being a part of a bigger organization that sends out [lists of] organizations that you can work with is so much better for people to go and actually do community service regularly. You [have] so many more options, more outreaches, more everything,” Fox said. “It’s so important to actually get involved with your community. You can’t be completely centered around your school.”

Giving back with 4H has given Fox the opportunity to see the impact his community service has.

“It’s a lot of seeing the sense of relief that people feel when they get help,” Fox said. “So many people are scared and just getting help [is so important]. They’re desperate for it, but they don’t know how to articulate that. So by simply letting them have food, having a lunch that’s cooked and ready or having canned food that they can take home and have for dinner one night creates an amazing sense of relief.”

Another organization puts a slightly different spin on volunteering. National Charity League (NCL) brings mothers and daughters together to spend time helping their communities.

Junior Miley Strathman joined NCL this year and finds joy in getting to learn about different charities around her. 

“My favorite thing about volunteering is that I get to see what all the organizations in Kansas are doing, and I get to see how that impacts people,” Strathman said. “It makes you feel like you accomplished something that day, and you feel good about it.” 

Strathman also uses NCL as an escape from her day to day routine and an opportunity to gain new experience. 

“I think [volunteering] is important because once you volunteer, you feel better about helping out people, and it’s just something that’s not focused on school,” Strathman said. “[It] takes your mind away from other things, and you get to help people out.” 

Getting Involved

Volunteering can seem like a daunting task for those who have never done it. There are so many organizations out there and it can be overwhelming to choose one to get started with. Ronning suggests students reflect on what they are passionate about to decide where to volunteer their time.

“I would recommend [students] figure out what kind of causes they’re passionate about. Some people are really into animals, or some people really want to help the homeless,” Ronning said. “You can do community service for anything that you’re passionate about, so I would figure out what that is.”  

Jones also recommends finding clubs or classes at the school that help facilitate those services. 

“I’d also recommend students sign up for the class or try to get into JLC or a number of the organizations here at Mill Valley that facilitate community service,” Jones said. “You don’t need that to do community service but they’re great opportunities to get access to opportunity.”

Shideler recommends that students who are not a part of school sponsored volunteer work find service opportunities through reaching out to these club sponsors.

“There’s so many opportunities [club advisors] know,” Shideler said. “They have so many people reaching out to them that they probably have a whole list of things where anyone can help.”

Joining an activity can also unite students with others who share a similar passion. Powell enjoys getting together with others to volunteer and thinks that is a key part of what service is.

“I think everyone could benefit if others were to help them. I think that we should all be getting together and helping lift others up,” Powell said. “So getting more people to have that mindset, I think, is helpful.”  

Students can also always find service opportunities on different organizations’ websites or simply by reaching out via email. There are plenty of food banks, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and other organizations looking for volunteers or donations.  

Community service can look different for each person, but Jones believes that no matter what service is provided, helping others is necessary for communities to prosper. 

“I don’t think any society or culture survives or thrives when there’s not a network of support within it,” Jones said. “I think really healthy communities are ones where people step in and help each other out.”