High school volunteers value community service role
Martha's Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) students are making a difference. At school and throughout the Martha's Vineyard community many young people are contributing through volunteerism.
Their numerous activities include recycling and other projects to help the environment, doing chores and yard work for the elderly, donating blood, raising money for good causes, working with younger children, and offering supportive services to fellow students.
"These are the things that make them good people, not just good students," said Steven Nixon, Martha's Vineyard Regional High School principal. "All of us can testify to the students that come back five, ten years later, to visit, and they're good people."
Eileen McLaughlin, second from right, admires the tree planted in front of her home at Woodside Village by students (from left) Kayla Montambault, Lisa Wilson, and Alexandra Ferland. Photo by Ralph Stewart
"They become good people because they had that base here, and I think that's something that shouldn't be overlooked in [education], involving the students in the community, and the community in the school," he added.
For Eileen McLaughlin, 83, a recent act of kindness by four students gave her a new look on life outside her apartment at Woodside Village in Oak Bluffs.
While working on a school community garden project on the Island Elderly Housing (IEH) grounds where Woodside Village is located, Lisa Wilson and her friends Alexandra Ferland, Max Martin, and Kayla Montambault took time out to transplant a tree to Ms. McLaughlin's front yard.
"I live in a parking lot - the cars are almost nose to nose with my living room and bedroom windows, and when the sun hits the windshields, it goes right in my windows," Ms. McLaughlin said. "It's wonderful now -
I can look out and see the tree, and every day I watch the birds. I really want the kids to get credit for this, because what matters is their spirit. They were so happy doing it."
A community garden germinates
Lisa Wilson became interested in a school garden after talking to students at another high who started one. Student Roots, a new garden club, sprouted from the initial meeting she organized among about 25 interested Martha's Vineyard Regional High School students and faculty members.
Lisa's seed of an idea for a school garden blossomed into a collaborative project between teens and senior citizens at Woodside Village.
Since January she had been involved in a work/study program with the Island-Grown Initiative (IGI), an organization that promotes locally grown food and Vineyard farmers. Although Lisa was told there was no garden space available on the high school grounds, an IGI staff member suggested that IEH, conveniently located across the street, might have a plot the students could use.
IEH executive director Ann Wallace said she was delighted by Lisa's request and viewed it as a "partnership made in heaven," giving residents the benefit of the students' help, and students the benefit of the residents' gardening experience and skills.
"This is a type of a multi-generational Island commitment we want to be able to sustain, as part of our mission in providing housing for the elderly and disabled - it helps keep a community vital," Ms. Wallace said.
Lynn and Bill Thorp, who had been trying to put together, and interest other residents in, a community garden since they moved to Woodside Village seven years ago, also welcomed the students' involvement. "We wondered how we could make it wonderful for the tenants and also make others in the community part of Island Elderly Housing," said Ms. Thorp. "Lisa was like a piece of miracle that arrived one day."
The garden club's goal is to grow and sell produce at the farmer's market this summer and at a reduced price to IEH tenants, with proceeds going towards next year's garden.
"We're happy to be getting outside and doing something productive," Lisa said. "This is something we wanted to do, that's student-based - we wanted to prove to America that teenagers aren't useless."
IEH residents would be the first to agree.
"A lot of things are happening at Woodside because of what they're doing - there's new life here," Ms. Thorp said. "We put a sign up that said come on out, kids are working on the garden. One woman who was very saddened by events in her life is delighted to have them around - her burdens have been lightened. It's lovely to have that beauty that just happens with youth around."
Leading by example
In another project that benefited senior citizens, about 30 juniors and seniors in government teacher Olsen Houghton's leadership class volunteered for a day last November with Vineyard Village at Home. The community-owned non-profit organization offers services to Martha's Vineyard's elderly through a pool of volunteers and service providers.
"Basically, we'll do anything to get us out in the community," Mr. Houghton said.
Students completed tasks such as cleaning out gutters, clearing yard debris, hanging storm windows, and changing batteries in smoke detectors. "We were well-paid in cookies by the grateful homeowners," Mr. Houghton said.
The leadership class also created and operates a school recycling program. Every other day, students go around and collect blue recycling bins from each classroom and fill up a dumpster outside.
Many in the class also are involved in student government, such as the student council. This year, the student council's initiative has been to "green the school," according to its president, senior Max Nunes.
In addition, student council members raised about $500 for the Red Stocking fund last fall and recently organized a blood drive that resulted in 48 units of blood donated to the Red Cross. Last month many student council members helped plant beach grass at State Beach.
The Martha's Vineyard Regional High School website promotes community service opportunities at 14 Island organizations. Although community service is not a graduation requirement, Mr. Nixon said the idea is under consideration in the School Improvement plan.
However, he added, "We really would prefer that the kids be doing something because they want to do it, not because we're telling them to do it."
Max agreed. "We have kids who volunteer just because," he said. "We have a lot of girls this year that are helping with Connect to End Violence, and other students with SafeRides and the Youth Task Force - it seems to me there is a spirit of public service at our school without that mandate."
Community service Island-wide
A few groups at the high school, such as the Peer Outreach Program and the National Honor Society, do incorporate a community service component into membership.
School adjustment counselor Amy Lilavois and guidance department director Michael McCarthy oversee the school's Peer Outreach Program, which trains students in communication and listening skills. Peer Outreach volunteers are nominated by their fellow students. Six boys and six girls from each class are invited to join.
The only commitment to the program is attendance at a two-day retreat. Currently, there is a broad cross-section of 90 students trained in the peer outreach program, which has been generously funded by the Alexandra Gagnon Foundation.
In addition to helping with peer mediation in disputes among students, a community service component was added to the program for the 2007-08 school year. Since then, peer outreach students volunteered for activities such as wrapping Red Stocking Fund gifts, working on the Duke's County Youth Task Force, and facilitating discussions about bullying at the Oak Bluffs School.
In February several peer outreach and leadership class students participated in a new group to raise awareness of teen issues around relationships and personal safety, and to get more teens involved in efforts to end domestic and sexual violence in the community.
The group was created by "CONNECT to end violence," Martha's Vineyard Community Services' support center for survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
The National Honor Society (NHS) requires 10 hours of community service from its members. In the fall the group organized a school-wide food drive. This winter NHS members raised $5,000 to contribute to Camp Safe Haven, a camp for young people whose lives are impacted by HIV/AIDS. Several Martha's Vineyard Regional High School students served as counselors at the camp last week during school vacation.
At the end of an hour-long interview, Mr. Nixon pointed out, "I'm sure you can go to a lot of high schools, and you can't spend an hour talking about all the things that the kids are doing as volunteers, making the community better."
