Southbury Leaders Club Reflects on Their Impact

One of the best parts of my job is watching young people discover how much impact they can have on the world around them.  Whether it's picking up litter or discouraging a bully, small actions can yield big results, and kids are sometimes the best at pointing that out.  

Yesterday was the last meeting of the Rochambeau Middle School Leaders Club and besides eating ice cream and playing games, we took some time to discuss what they've accomplished in the few short months they've been together.  When I asked the 7th and 8th grade students what they had done this year, there were many obvious responses:

"We helped at the Southbury Food Bank!" 

"We got good grades!"   

"We learned how to communicate better and listen to our friends."  

Some of the answers were a surprise to me.  One 7th grade boy said that working in the Leaders helped him to make friends with new people he never would have never been friends with.  When I asked him what he meant, he laughed and explained that he had never really worked with students who went to Pomperaug Elementary School and had just stuck with his friends from Longmeadow, even though he had already been at RMS for a year and half.  I didn't realize that there was this division and I'm glad that the Leaders Club allowed this student and others to partner up with people he may have never befriended otherwise.  

Another student said that his biggest accomplishment through the Leaders Club was making people in his community smile.  While it was a little bit of a joke, he got to the heart of what volunteering is about, not just fulfilling a need, but also sharing a sense of worth.  These students exercised their ability to make a difference and shared not only non-perishables, but a true sense of community and friendship.   

A few of the students in the Leaders Club at RMS will be graduating next month and moving on to high school, but many are excited to return to the Leaders Club next year.  One very concerned 7th grade girl came up to me and asked, "is it true?  Is this our last meeting for the year?  I thought we had more projects to do?!"  I was excited to hear that she still wanted more and promised that we would fit in more service projects next year.  With this sort of enthusiasm, the Leaders Club will be sure to become an even bigger part of the community and the students' lives next year.   

We will start the Leaders Club again next Fall at Rochambeau Middle School, but in the meantime, if you know a student who is interested in joining, or you have an idea for a service project for us, please feel free to email me at cambrozaitis@waterburyymca.org.