Senior
Chad Taylor volunteers his time shoveling off sidewalks of local residence.
Derek Ulvila
and Ryan Saxby stand rigid in the blustering wind and snow. Their toes
are numb, and they have heard enough country imitations of Christmas songs
to last them a decade or two.
But they muster
the st rength to smile and say "Merry
Christmas!" as Tidyman's customers pass through the door.
Ulvila and Saxby are doing their best to raise money
for the Salvation Army. It is not a required duty, but a volunteer activity
organized by the National Honor Society.
"There are four pillars to the National Honor
Society," said NHS advisor Jean Barragan, "And one of those
is service."
The NHS requires that members are active in their community
as a part of the club's criteria for entrance.
"Last year we turned in 302 volunteer hours,"
said Barragan. "They included an after-school partnership program
with Hedges Elementary, tutoring at FHS, ushering, working at the soup
kitchen, and bell-ringing for the Salvation Army's Christmas Kettle."
"I didn't realize there were that many less fortunate
people in the Flathead Valley," said senior Roger Rowe of the community
soup kitchen. "I think programs like these are very important."
Senior Alexia Klang participates in the after-school
tutoring program at Hedges.
"I think it's lots of fun being able to help them
do their homework," said Klang. "They treat me as one of their
friends."
Junior Stephanie Dotson got her required volunteer hours
by helping to coach the Highliner track team.
"When we were teaching them how to do the long
jump one of the little girls ate it in the sand pit," said Dotson.
"She was okay, but we all got a good laugh out of it."
Another volunteer organization at the high school is the Volunteens. They
help at the hospital at least two hours a week talking with rehab patients
and helping with games and meals.
"Last week at the hospital there was this elderly
lady there and she was eating dinner," said senior Brianne Lowery.
"It was the coolest thing because her daughter came by and gave her
a New York steak especially made for her and brought it on a Christmas
plate with a Christmas napkin. Then she read her a story from a Winnie
the Pooh book.
"It was really cool to witness. Just seeing how
much care there is for another person is amazing."
Volunteens work in in-patient rehab, where most patients
are recovering from accidents or injuries.
"It's just really interesting to see how people
grow," said senior Amelia Freeman. "This lady had a head injury
and she started off really bad and unresponsive. We just watched her get
better and better. After five or six weeks, she was back to normal and
got to go home."
Senior Raquel DeBlauw, a former member of Volunteens,
continues to participate in other volunteer activities, such as teaching
a first-grade religious education class at St. Matthew's.
"Last year there was this boy who never paid attention
and always goofed off. But his mom told us it (RE class) was his favorite
thing to do and that he looked forward to coming to class," said
DeBlauw. "It meant that we were actually touching his life somehow."
The students of Mr. Hildner's Global Village class participate
in many volunteer activities as a required part of their grade. To receive
an A, the student must complete 14 volunteer hours per semester.
Though the community work is required, many students
enjoy their pursuits.
"It's pretty fun," said junior Claire Larson,
who calls out bingo numbers at the Lutheran Home. "Bingo is serious
business. When I call the numbers, sometimes they scream out, 'You're
calling the wrong numbers!' just to be jokers."
