Opportunities to aid Students volunteer at a variety of organizations to attain school, personal goals Andrew Haughey
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haughand000@hsestudents.org
olunteering in the community can help students achieve a multitude of goals, whether it be for a cord at graduation, a requirement set by the National Honor Society (NHS) or just the desire to be involved. In order to help students achieve these goals, several businesses and nonprofit organizations have extended opportunities for individuals wishing to participate in community service. The Hamilton County Humane Society is one of these organizations. The Humane Society takes great pride in being the only no-kill animal shelter in Indiana and relies heavily on volunteering from the community. Senior Kathryn Rockwood is one of the many volunteers that keep the shelter up and running and cites her immense love for animals as her reason for volunteering. “I had a lack of animals when I was young because my dad was allergic to any animal with fur,” Rockwood said. “Not being able to have them made me want to over-accumulate them, and the best way to do that is to actually volunteer at an organization with animals. They’re everywhere, and they all want attention and love that I am willing to give.” Volunteering once or twice a month is often all that may be expected if a student has work and other activities to attend to. Additionally, volunteers do not have to work directly with animals and can instead opt for alternative service. “They always need food dishes to be cleaned, food to be sorted and cages to be cleaned,” Rockwood said.
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Students interested in volunteering at the Humane Society can get into contact with the Animal Adoption Awareness Rescue Club or the Hamilton County Humane Society themselves via email. Another organization that offers volunteering opportunities to individuals is The Apple Store through Conner Prairie. Bridget Hand, Conner Prairie Apple Corps Coordinator and member of the Conner Prairie Alliance, gave the basics for volunteering at the store. “We ask for two, threehour shifts as a minimum commitment, with shifts running from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.,” Hand said. “There are some additional shifts that are not store shifts but are instead shifts where students can come in and help with the apple dipping, which is a big part of The Apple Store. They can also help with some of the candy and specialties we sell in the store.” When students volunteer at The Apple Store, they work with The Alliance of Conner Prairie. This decades-old, all-female organization helps raise money for Conner Prairie through various fundraisers. Kate Baker, senior manager of advancement and board relations, believes volunteering for The Alliance can benefit students in several ways. “I think what students can really learn from The Alliance is the great spirit of philanthropy,” Baker said. “This is a group of women who’ve been around for decades now that are helping to support Conner Prairie as a whole, and they do it through acts of service in a very short amount of time, but they make a
big impact.” Students interested in volunteering at The Apple Store can contact Hand via email at CPAppleCorps@ gmail.com for more information. While students may find it enriching to volunteer throughout the community, some may prefer to help their school and peers. NHS offers several volunteer Senior Olivia Young volunteers at a opportunities each stand during the 2021 Juneteenth semester, with their Jubilee at Nickel Plate on Sept. 19. primary focus being Photo by Kathleen Tran on school events. “The FAST swim team is always looking for volunteers to work their meets, which both kids who are interested in joining NHS and members of NHS can earn service hours at,” NHS coordinator and Spanish teacher Elizabeth Schulhof said. “Other service hours can be obtained through volunteering for open houses, like helping parents find their way around the school and eighth grade parent night. As far as in the community, there are all sorts of things students can do. They can work at Third Phase [a homeless shelter in Hamilton County], they can work at the Come to Me Food Pantry or the different events we have throughout the summer such as Spark!Fishers.” Students interested in joining NHS can fill out an application in the spring to be considered for membership.
For more information on volunteering opportunities in Fishers, scan the QR code above.
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