The holidays are not only for spending time with loved ones, but also for reaching out a helping hand to those who are less fortunate.
On Tuesday, Nov. 25, there were about 300 extra pairs of hands making a difference around the Capital District on O’Rourke Middle School’s community day.
The Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake School District’s annual event, which is always the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, sees the students of the eighth grade spreading out across the community and volunteering a few hours at various agencies.
Thirty-six different groups are participating this year, from nursing homes to soup kitchens. Students might put together gift bags for a children’s hospital, sort records with the Ballston Town Historian, hand out donations at a food pantry or read to seniors. At the end of the day, they return to the middle school and create a presentation with their group and share their experiences with classmates.
We want to broaden their horizons, to increase their awareness of their community, to promote tolerance and allow them to discover their own abilities, said Marge Rizzo, O’Rourke’s librarian.
She organized the program with family and consumer science teacher Joyce Brown 14 years ago, and the duo has been running it ever since.
Rizzo said she hopes that students will take a lesson away from their experiences and endeavor to help out whenever possible, not just around the holidays.
`If a person begins to volunteer as a young person, they are twice as likely to volunteer later in life,` said Rizzo. `Planting this seed early reaps the benefits their whole lives.`
She said that when contacting the Schenectady ARC this year to plan the program, she learned that some of the kids who helped out at last year’s community day were still corresponding with the clients.
`It was totally on the kids’ initiation,` said Trisha Viera, activities coordinator at the ARC’s Pricetown Facility. `I can’t tell you how much the consumers loved getting those letters.`
The Schenectady ARC (Advocacy, Resources, Choices) serves more than 1,000 individuals with developmental disabilities in the Schenectady area.
`It’s been extremely successful,` said Viera of community day. `The folks I work with here really look forward to it. I can’t say enough for the kids.`
Preparation for community day starts in October, when students indicate with what type of agency they’d like to spend their time: children, elderly, homeless or community agencies like libraries. Teachers and parents serve as chaperones to the groups.
The program was recently recognized by the Character Education Partnership, a Washington, D.C.-based organization dedicated to fostering character education in K-12 programs schools across the nation.
Community day will also see kids going to area nursing homes like Maplewood Manor in Ballston Spa, which has participated in the program for several years. According to Activities Director Laura Vigneau, community day is a favorite for Maplewood’s 277 residents.
`Anything with kids is a big draw,` she said.
In years past, the approximately 15 students who go to Maplewood helped residents play Bingo or other structured activities in the community room. This year, their visit will coincide with the nursing home’s book fair and the kids will be picking up residents by wheelchair and helping them pick out books.
`This is the first year we’re going to do something a little different,` said Vigneau. `We thought we’d take advantage of the opportunity to let the kids interact with the residents.`
For students who can’t go out to area agencies for whatever reason, speakers from places like the Ronald McDonald House and the Bethesda House of Schenectady will come to O’Rourke to talk about volunteering, and students will be able to make tote bags or blankets for various organizations.“