Teens often get a bad rap for being being lazy, but todays youth seems anything but.
A recent survey conducted by the Corporation for National and Community Service concluded that an estimated 15.5 million kids, ages 12 through 18, volunteered, for a total of more than 1.3 billion hours of community service each year.
Teen volunteers are a veritable force for good in Renton. Let's meet two local teens who balance school, friends and volunteerism.
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Kiera Stevens, a sophomore at Liberty High School , began volunteering at the age of 6. As a lifelong Girl Scout, Stevens spent countless hours earning badges by volunteering for community projects. Her troop has become as close as a family, where everyone works like a team, she said. In school, enjoys building sets for the theater department and tutors a friend in math because she’s good with numbers.
“I’ve always been about helping people,” she said.
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On the other hand, senior, Kelsey Mejlaender, combines volunteering with her passion for long-distance running. Her favorite project, called gave her the chance to help elementary school girls train for their first 5K run. She’s also worked with Weed Warriors, to help rid the environment of noxious plants. Mejlaender first joined Key Club at school because it would look good on college applications, but got hooked. She now serves as club president.
“The more I got into it,” she said, “I saw the positive affect we had on people.”
Through Key Club, Mejlaender volunteered at the , where the work was completed in half the time because so many kids showed up to help. Then, there’s Relay For Life.
“That was my first big volunteer event,” she recalled. “I’ve done the race all through high school and gotten more and more of my friends to join.”
Although these two outstanding young women live miles apart and go to different schools, their paths crossed when they both volunteered for Birthday Dreams, a local nonprofit organization that provides birthday parties for homeless children.
Stevens found her way to Birthday Dreams when she was donating her face painting skills at the Issaquah Farmer’s Market and met someone who referred her. Now Stevens makes homeless kids happy by decorating their faces with colorful art. When asked why she’s willing to donate so much of her time to worthy causes, Stevens responds with a maturity that belies her youth.
“I have a good life," She said. "I think I could give up an hour or two to give something to a kid who doesn’t have such a good life.”
Mejlaender came to Birthday Dreams via Key Club when the club helped plan and orchestrate one of the birthday parties. The club went on to raise money for the organization and eventually, Mejlaender began volunteering on her own, helping to supervise the kid’s games.
“I like being able to see that all the kids get to play the games and no one is left out,” she says.
According to Chris Spahn, Co-founder and Executive Director of Birthday Dreams, the organization depends on volunteers like Stevens and Mejlaender.
“These young girls bring a lot of positive energy to the parties. We love having them,” Spahn said.
In today’s world, teens’ lives are filled with school, clubs, sports, and friends.
Isn't nice when they can combine their passions and everyday activities with volunteerism?
