These high school students don’t volunteer because they have to. Some have already fulfilled their required community service hours. And even if additional hours were needed, this effort would not earn them credit.
They do it because they want to. They want a chance to give back, regardless of how small or large an effort it is.
The "it" involves members of the girls varsity soccer team at Friends School, who this spring have twice volunteered to helped prepare and serve meals at My Sister’s Place Women’s Center in Baltimore.
“They realize the value of helping, giving back to the community,” head coach Nick Gill said. “Some of them have done their community service hours and still jump at the opportunity to help out in whatever way they can.”
The teammates feel so strongly about it that they will continue this summer and into the next academic year—and possibly beyond.
“It is something we definitely would like to continue as a team,” said Laney Mathais, a junior at the North Charles Street school.
One reason is it helps build team unity, yet more importantly, if offers an opportunity to help those less fortunate.
“I’ve been going to Friends for 13 years now, and we’ve learned all the Quaker values of community and community service,” junior Lucy Klein said. “It’s really important to us; this is the first time I’ve ever done it on a sports team, so I think that’s a really cool thing.”
On May 22, Klein, Mathais, Gill and three other members of the team spent a late Sunday afternoon at the women’s shelter. They set tables, prepared iced tea, placed pitchers of water and plates of butter on the table, helped cook and serve the meals, and helped wash the dishes.
Volunteer work such as this is important to My Sister’s Place, and other organizations that provide services to those in need.
“Without groups like this, we wouldn’t be able to serve three meals a day, every day of the year,” volunteer coordinator Faith Savill said. “It makes it easier for us and our clients.”
Savill also said the volunteers have much to gain.
“It is a good exercise for people to do together, as a group,” she said. “They also see part of a community they might not be aware of.”
And for the members of the Friends girls soccer team, the opportunity is there to interact with the numerous women, most of them older, others with children.
Freshman Amy Lieber, whose mother first brought the idea to the school’s attention, said seeing the children made her feel grateful for what she has.
“We have never been put in that experience,” Lieber said. “We’ve never had to go through that, so it reminds you. ... ” she added as her voice trailed off.
“It’s a different experience,” junior Aislinn Cook said. “We haven’t been fully exposed to underprivileged people; it’s been an eye-opening experience to see the different types of people that have come in, and hear their stories.”
Eliza Harris, a freshman, noted that the good in helping other people also brings the group closer as a team.
“We get to know each other in different ways and in a different setting,” she said.
Teammate Abby Corkum agreed.
“We’re not just teammates, we’re like family,” the freshman said. “We’re so close, and it’s good for us to share that with other people that we get to serve food to."
“It’s teamwork outside of the sports field,” said Mackenzie Gerrity, another freshman. “We’ve had to use teamwork to make the pasta.”
For the team’s coach, there was no question about whether the girls would help at the shelter.
“I held a meeting, brought it up to the girls and they were on board right away,” Gill said. “They wanted me to set up dates and they were eager to get out there are start helping."
And there was no question that the school administration would agree.
“Community is a big part of Friends School,” Gill said.
Lessons Learned
Even though each student athlete did not attend both volunteer sessions, important lessons were learned.
“It really reinforced in me about how lucky I am to go to Friends School,” Gerrity said. “A lot of those women are not as fortunate as we are.”
Following on Gerrity’s point, Klein noted it broadened her outlook.
“Obviously, we all are really fortunate,” she said. “I’ve never done anything like this before, so it opened me up to a new thing.”
Mathais was surprised by a conversation she had with a woman about girls playing sports.
“I told her we were on the soccer team and she was a little put off by that,” Mathais said. “She said something like, ‘Women aren’t supposed to play sports.’
“That just made me appreciate everything even more,” she said. “The fact that we are able to go to this school and play sports and get a great education, and we’re also going out and working in the community, just made me feel extremely lucky.”
In addition to those life lessons, the teammates gained more knowledge through the volunteer work.
“I learned that the women are really smart and they have a lot of experiences,” Lieber said, noting that art and written works by the women are hanging on the walls.
Corkum left with the value of keeping an open mind.
“It’s not just all about yourself,” she said. “You can go and help others and they’ll appreciate it.”
Harris agreed.
“They were all just really, really grateful that we were there and helping out.”
Yet perhaps Cook summed it up the best.
“I learned that a smile can go a long way,” she said. “You haven’t walked in their shoes, but it’s sometimes a simple smile, and, here you are. And they’ll smile back and that can speak louder than words.”
Moving Forward
Volunteer work at My Sister’s Place has also been performed by members of the school’s badminton team, and by individual students and their parents.
Both Gill and the soccer teammates hope these examples will encourage other teams and organizations within the Friends community and beyond to do something similar.
“That would be a great thing to see—people seeing what these girls have been doing and wanting to become a part of something like that,” Gill said.
And, he said talks are already underway with the coaches of the girls varsity lacrosse team regarding collection and donation of clothing and canned goods.
Savill, the volunteer coordinator at My Sister’s Place, wants everyone to know that this type of volunteer work is important.
“Any commitment is great,” she said. “The need is there in every aspect—it doesn’t need to be food, it can be tutoring, or anything else,” she said.
Anyone who is interested in these or similar opportunities may contact Gill by e-mail at ngill@friendsbalt.org. He can share details regarding what the team has done, and is willing to help in any way possible.