Students learn how to help others
Toolbox
By PATRICIA MINICHIELLO STAFF WRITER - Published: March 5, 2010
PROCTOR — Students at Proctor High School are gearing up to give back.
It's part of a service-based learning initiative kick-started last week by speakers at the school, followed by classroom brainstorming sessions on volunteerism.
Martha Coulter, a school psychologist for Rutland Central Supervisory Union, said the purpose of the event was to spark students' interest in volunteerism in their community and their school.
"What people are really surprised to learn is that when these programs are implemented in schools, grades rise by an average of 11 to 17 percentage points," Coulter said.
Speaking to the students were four members of the community who have made strides in service organizations and volunteerism on both a local and international level.
Patty Sabotka, owner of Tapas restaurant in Rutland City, spoke about her charity organization Carmey's Angels, a nonprofit that provides holiday gifts to more than 700 children in Rutland County. The group has recently expanded to include Easter baskets and school backpacks full of school supplies as well.
"There's so much you can do to help families that are less fortunate," Sabotka told students. "You are the future, you can make a difference," she said.
Another speaker, the Rev. Russ Gates of the Union Church in Proctor, spoke about how students could be of service to the elderly. He suggested service projects such as snow shoveling, building decks, ramps and volunteering at nursing homes.
Michelle Dauphinais from R.S.V.P. and the Volunteer Center said it's her job to "mobilize folks in service to the community." She said her organization provides opportunities for people of all ages who want to make a difference, get involved and enjoy the experience of volunteering.
"I try to make placements based on a volunteer's talents," Dauphinais said. "I am always looking for students just like yourselves who will step up and build on those skills."
Gillian Dolce, 24, of Rutland also spoke to students, describing her experience volunteering at the WISER program in Kenya. Her organization has been instrumental in establishing a secondary school in Kenya for girls.
Dolce encouraged students to recognize the opportunities they have to contribute to their community and even to distant communities.
"That's the international scale of what you can do and it all starts here," she said.
After listening to the speakers, students broke into groups and shared ideas for spring community service projects.
Some of the popular ideas eighth-graders shared included providing after-school activities for youths in the community, holding a painting day for Proctor Place (a home for senior citizens that caught fire last year), singing to senior centers and donating clothing to the Salvation Army.
Upperclassmen also had many service-based learning ideas, including providing food and clothing to needy families, spring cleanup in public areas and parks, opening a soup kitchen for Proctor residents and providing transportation around town for senior citizens.
"We want this to remain a student choice but some will have to be narrowed down into what the principal considers safe and doable in a certain time frame," Coulter said.
Recently, the Lions Clubs International Organization awarded RCSU a grant of $23,000 to assist in training teachers in the Lions Quest SEL curriculum. That amount includes $6,000 that the Vermont Lions Clubs have pledged toward that grant award.
Lions Quest SEL curriculum emphasizes service-based learning, by helping students to implement projects around their community.
"The first step in the process is to generate ideas on what needs exist in the community," Coulter said. "Students work on a short-term service-learning project in the spring. The hope is that this becomes incorporated into what they do in school."
patricia.minichiello@rutlandherald.com
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