This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

When the Younger Generation Volunteers, It Makes a Difference

The Renton Youth Council is becoming a familiar volunteer presence at local charity events.

While it’s good to be young, many teenagers these days can be overwhelmed with commitments to school, sports, family and friends. 

Why, then, would a group of young people choose to spend a big portion of their free time raising money for local nonprofits or cleaning up after a community event?

Because they care.

Find out what's happening in Rentonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

K.D. Kerstetter, 15, from Liberty High School, says volunteering allows her to put others before herself.  Anna Le, 17, from Lindbergh High School, says it allows her to connect with people she wouldn’t normally meet.

The two are part of Renton Youth Council, a group of middle and high school students who meet weekly to organize activities and help make a difference in the Renton community. 

Find out what's happening in Rentonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Started in 1995, RYC has about 65 members and selects one to two events a month with which to volunteer. Tom Puthoff, city recreation coordinator, says he gets new members largely from current members who bring in their friends.  About 20-25 kids attend each week, and according to Puthoff, “The kids are in charge.”

Organized like other volunteer groups, the members elect officers, who in turn are responsible for creating the agendas and running the meetings.  Tyler Ackerson, 14 and also a Liberty student, likes meeting other kids and thinks RYC is a blast.

“It’s very social,” he says.  “And we’re helping the greater good of the community.

Over the years, Renton Youth Council has worked the Salvation Army dinners, Budkis Fund auction, Rotary Crab Feed and the Renton Community Foundation’s Circle of Giving Awards Celebration, just to name a few.  Council members bring forward ideas for events and dates, as can Puthoff.  The group then votes on the events it chooses to take.

Puthoff says this is the favorite part of his job.  “Getting to see kids grow into adults is pretty special,” he says.

If you’ve been to a local event, you may have seen the kids in their signature green T-shirts quietly working in the background serving the meal, cleaning tables or helping to set up or take down. “Whenever we do a dinner,” says Ackerson, “my friend and I fight to do the dishes.”

The kids work hard.  They’re friendly, respectful and great representatives for the city.

But for Le, Kerstetter and Ackerson, volunteering is more than just participating in Renton Youth Council.  They think volunteering is fun and rewarding.  After all, there’s volunteering with church, Honor Society and tutoring.  All three have also volunteered for Relay For Life.

“I’m most proud of doing Relay For Life,” says Le.  “It’s so beautiful when they light the candles and everybody goes silent in honor of those who died from something so horrible.”

“It’s an amazing experience,” says Kerstetter, “to see so many people affected by cancer and then to see the community reaching out to help.”

Ackerson loves Relay and boasts that he was one of only two people able to stay up all night at the 24-hour event.

Yes, it’s good to be young. When you’re young, you can stay up all night to raise money to beat cancer.  Do the dishes after an event, even when you might not do them at home.  Tutor fellow students struggling with math, or help teach younger children at church.

As adults, we’re lucky the young choose to make such a difference in our community.  We should stop and pay attention.  These kids can teach us a lot.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?