The little boy was a frequent visitor to the Child Protection Center in midtown Kansas City. He was quiet and didn’t talk much. When STA alumnae Christie Fletcher began working at the Child Protection Center for her senior service project, her job was to be in the front of the building, playing with kids and getting them ready to speak to a psychologist.
“The Child Protection Center is a psychology firm that specializes in kids that have been abused,” Fletcher said. “When they witness a crime or something like that, they are taken there instead of to the police station so that they feel more comfortable.”
The little boy who was scared and didn’t talk much became attached to Fletcher.
“Every time he came in to be interviewed, he asked for me,” Fletcher said. “He would talk to me and want me to read to him.”
This was one of many inspiring experiences for Fletcher, who is now a freshman at Missouri State University, and it has continued to affect her life.
“My major is psychology with a focus on adolescence,” Fletcher said. “I’d wanted to do this, and [my experience] was my way to realize I was passionate about it.”
While Fletcher’s experience is a unique one, service week, 5 days of volunteering at an agency for juniors and seniors, is a time when many people find something they’re passionate about and make connections with people that they never would have met otherwise.
As students at STA, we sometimes interact with people who need our help, maybe a friend who is struggling with family issues or a sibling who needs homework help. We help them if we can and if we have time. However, service week is a time we dedicate to doing nothing but helping those who need us. For Fletcher, the little boy needed help to feel safe and comfortable and loved. In nursing home and hospice houses, those elderly will need help from you in the form of attention and patience and a listening ear. But the general idea of what is being asked of us is the same everywhere. We are there to show respect and love and to selflessly serve the people at our agencies.
As students, we may even learn more and receive more than we ever expected from people to who we are supposed to be administering the help.
In Fletcher’s case, some of the women at her agency went to the same college she did and helped her with her course selection and to find internships.
Other students have found their callings in many different fields and some have based their careers off of a single service week experience.
STA has an incredible opportunity to make an impact on the community and people in our city that have so much less than we do. According to The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, 47 percent of high school students nationwide volunteer in the community. One hundred percent of STA students volunteer at least 90 hours in the community. As students of the Academy, it is our responsibility to show love, respect, caring, understanding and nurturing during our service weeks.
Right on Target: Each issue, the Dart asks three people their opinions of the issue discussed in the main editorial. Here’s what they said.
Compiled by Sabrina Redlingshafer
The Question: How do you feel volunteering impacts you?
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Sophomore Madalyn Schulte: “It makes me feel like I’m doing something that actually matters. Like I’m actually impacting someone else.”
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Junior Emma Allen: “It gives me a broader view on life. It makes me feel like I’m accomplishing something because I’m helping other people.”
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Freshman Claire McHugh: “Volunteering is a much better use of your time, much more productive than sitting on your couch and mindlessly staring at your TV.”
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