Volunteering with NGOs with the Community Engagement Club
At Stanford OHS, students understand the need to work together in order to face the many ills that plague our world, both literal and figurative. Environmental conservation, disaster preparedness, community outreach, and the current coronavirus pandemic are all issues that OHS students have teamed up with their communities to resolve. This past summer, OHS students have proven that no matter where or how, they will always find a way to solve problems with their community.
A trail marker placed by Alex Cheng and his team
For instance, Alex Cheng worked with the Eagle Scouts to place trail markers and benches at a nearby trail: “The purpose of the project was to put in nine trail markers and two benches into a local nature preserve. The trail markers in place already were on trees and were getting worn down, so they needed new ones on separate posts.”
As a result of Alex’s work with the Eagle Scouts, the trails are better enforced, limiting erosion. Furthermore, the addition of benches to the trail has also made the reserve more accessible, as visitors are able to rest.
Additionally, Alex says that this experience has broadened his leadership skills: “I learned how to coordinate more than one group in that environment and how to plan ahead to mitigate any problems that might occur with dealing with two groups in a dangerous work environment.”
While Alex was working with the Eagle Scouts to protect nature, Elisha Rabley worked with the Red Cross over the summer to learn how to keep herself and her community safe from nature. Although she could not attend classes in person because of the pandemic, that didn’t stop Elisha from attending multiple online classes in order to be better prepared if a hurricane or coronavirus breakout strikes her community, both of which are becoming more and more likely scenarios. About the experience, Elisha said, “For me, I found Red Cross online to have helped me realize that I don't need to be in person to still help and learn (though I still prefer to help out in person).”
Nathan Chong, in the similar absence of volunteer opportunities in his area, co-founded Havn, a non-profit that will help bring more opportunities for community service to high schoolers. “Supported by Squarespace and our mentors, we’ve made discovering and applying for volunteer opportunities easier for students, with our platform and generalized application. At the moment, we have yet to release the platform but are communicating with 700+ organizations and beginning to connect with schools here in Canada.” Nathan hopes to expand the organization beyond Canada after it launches as well.
Many students still prefer to interface directly with the members of their community. Grant Giovanetti volunteered for the non-profit organization, Ready For Life Brevard (RFLB), which prepares young adults exiting foster care for adulthood. Grant saw in RFLB a real opportunity to make tangible change in his community. RFLB is quite small, and as such was unorganized. Before Grant volunteered, RFLB kept information about people of interest in “dozens of folders and lists” as opposed to a more modern and efficient data storage method. One of Grant’s jobs was organizing these folders into a better medium, a “master list” which included clients, board members, donors, volunteers, and community partners as well as their various needs and contributions. Grant also helped staff the pantry, a place where clients could receive food, toiletries, clothes, and other goods that were donated to RFLB. “In total I spent 40-50 hours volunteering for them and I would keep volunteering with them but it conflicts with school.”
Students Pierce Wang and Kate Snyder found ways to serve the sick and the elderly in their communities, but in different ways. Kate volunteered at the Ceres Community Project, wherein community youths prepare nutritious meals for cancer patients. The Ceres Community Project’s goals are both to help cancer patients stay as healthy as possible, physically and socially, and also to teach teenagers like Kate real life and workplace skills. Kate says, “I started volunteering there because I had personal experience caring for someone with cancer, and I wanted to help more people with similar needs.” In addition to imparting the culinary skills and the social skills required for caring for the ill, “they also have a leadership program that provides the opportunity to take on more responsibilities as we gain more experience, ultimately allowing us to become leaders of our group. It has allowed me to meet students from other local high schools, and become part of a new community.”
Pierce Wang’s project arguably started before the past summer: “Well, when I was much younger, I used to give performances at nursing homes and after those performances, all of us performers would go around and meet each person we had performed for, and that experience really shaped my experience growing up being able to use music as a way to connect more with other people.” Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic, concerts like this have become a public health risk, but Pierce still found a way to connect to his community with his music and raised money for a good cause in the process. “So, basically, I partnered up with an organization called Notes For Nourishment that helps musicians organize benefit concerts for a charity of their choosing.” Pierce organized this concert with some friends from the music camp he attended earlier in the summer affiliated with Heifetz International Music Institute in order to raise money for Our Daughters International, an organization that combats human trafficking.
Pierce Wang performing at the benefit concert he organized
In addition to these community service efforts, OHS students have been doing their part to limit the spread of coronavirus, classes already being online and such, but Gigi Truong has made it a point to ensure that everybody can take a role in ensuring the health of themselves and others. With her resourcefulness and connections to the Girl Scouts, Gigi manufactured masks in sizes small enough for children and large enough for teenagers: “I used Girl Scout money that my troop (made of my two younger sisters and I) had raised over cookie season to buy the fabrics and elastics, so technically, this was a Girl Scout project.” Gigi and her sisters’ efforts have ensured that 100 adolescent recipients can help prevent the spread of deadly diseases. The inspiration for this great undertaking came from Gigi’s nine-year-old sister: “I started making masks because I have a younger sister (age 9) who’s a bit of a fashionista. She's also kind of small, so normal masks didn’t really fit her properly, so she wanted me to make her one.” Gigi also ensured that these masks went to the most vulnerable members of the community: “I donated those 100 masks to a program called SAVE (Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments), a local non-profit organization that’s dedicated to helping women and children leave abusive situations.”
Students who want to find more opportunities to volunteer with NGOs should reach out to the Community Engagement Club, by emailing Ms. Burson-Ryan (cbursonryan@stanford.edu) or Noah Giles (negiles@ohs.stanford.edu). The CE Club is committed to connecting students at OHS with volunteering opportunities, be that tutoring or coat drives, and is a resource for students who want to give back to their communities.