Groups see surge in teen volunteering
Seventeen-year-old Laura Lichterman spends her free periods – lunch and study hall – playing basketball and helping Brandon Wendt, a 17-year-old developmentally disabled student, with his schoolwork.
“I do my homework at home,” said Lichterman, explaining how she finds the time. “I have more fun coming here [to special education teacher Kerrie Kurth’s classroom]. I’ve always been a volunteer. ... I don’t want to become a special-ed teacher, but I’d like to stay involved.”
Lichterman is the president of the Best Buddies chapter at Crystal Lake South High School. The program pairs mainstream students with mentally disabled classmates. About 60 students volunteer for the program, now in its second year.
Lichterman’s long-term goal is to become a civil-rights attorney and protect the interests of children with disabilities.
Lichterman also has a pet “philanthropy project” on the side.
“I make fleece-knot blankets for children in hospitals,” Lichterman said.
She is hardly alone.
John Headley, a faculty adviser for the Woodstock High School Key Club – affiliated with the Kiwanis Club – said people would be amazed at how much volunteer work high school students are doing these days.
“Arrest records and vandalism are what people expect when you read about teenagers in the news,” Headley said. “Not so. Kids nowadays are incredible. Since the economic downturn, I’ve been bombarded with requests for teenage volunteers. And the students in Woodstock have responded to the call.”
Nationwide, community service in schools has grown since 1999. The percentage of public school principals reporting that their schools offer volunteer opportunities for students has grown from 64 percent in 1999 to 68 percent in 2008.
High schools are especially likely to recognize community service, with 86 percent of schools doing so in 2008, up from 83 percent in 1999, according to the Corporation for National & Community Service, based in Washington D.C.
Headley said he had seen a difference. Ten students volunteered for Key Club last year. This year, there are 50 members.
Jennifer Kenning, a volunteer coordinator at Turning Point – a shelter for battered women and children in Woodstock – said scores of teenage volunteers helped out there.
They come in groups, such as the Boy Scouts, and some of them come to her on their own, looking to help out, she said.
“It’s amazing what they will do,” Kenning said. “They paint, put up shelves, rake leaves, shovel snow. You name it. They’re great help.”
Members of the Woodstock Student Council on Wednesday night served food to the homeless at Congregational Unitarian Church near the Woodstock Square.
Student council member Ana Ahmeti, 16, said money used to buy soup, spaghetti, garlic bread and macaroni came out of the student council’s coffers. The students have a budget for charity. Students at Woodstock High School cooked the food in the home economics kitchen.
“It’s a great way to give back,” said Luke Kunzie, a 17-year-old senior who helped serve dinners.
Cathy Smith, a member of the church who watched the students serving the homeless and cleaning up afterward, had high praise.
“I’m amazed,” Smith said. “These kids are here, giving up their free time, helping people that are less fortunate. I think it’s great.”