Service Features

Seniors Madison Masilionis and Olivia Neal perform in the Tri-M benefit concert and installation. “[The concert] was so much fun to do and be able to perform with so many talented people for such a great cause,” Masilionis said. (Photo by Natalie Sopyla) Working at Wayside Waifs, junior Honor Schleicher holds Grayson, a tabby that was adopted this week. “I’ve become friends with a lot of people who are very different from me. One of my closest friends right now is a 75-year-old woman. She’s a total cat lady,” Schleicher said. (Photo by Natalie Williams) Sophomore Catherine Henne volunteers at the Farmer’s House teaching children with disabilities skills to be selfsufficient. “After baking class it feels incredible knowing that I am making an impact on these young adults,” Henne said. (Photo by Chloe Barrett)

Making Their Mark

Five students learn the importance of service through long-term projects.

BY CHLOE BARRETT, ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR NATALIE SOPYLA, FEATURES EDITOR AND NATALIE WILLIAMS, REPORTER

While herds of desperate shoppers trample each other as they race through department store doors on Black Friday and children line up in malls eager to tell Santa all about what gifts they want this year, it is easy to see Christmas as a time of receiving. It is a time where people are obsessed with making lists of presents they want and race past the Salvation Army bell ringers in order to reach the discounted electronics.

But this time of year is also the time to give back, as witnessed by the #GivingTuesday movement which raised over $116 million this year, according to its website.

In the same way that no two fingerprints are the same, everyone has different ways that they can give back to the community. All students explore the unique ways they can give back while pursing their interests and completing required community service hours. The students featured in this story have all found ways to turn their service into a lasting relationship with those in need.

By exploring their own interests and their role in the lives of others, students are able to leave their unique mark on the world around them. Story continued on page 16....

Three girls enter a darkened room, where only a few candles provide light. Women are seated in chairs set up in a circle in the middle of the room. This is what seniors Madison Masilionis, Olivia Neal and Anna Sell look forward to every Tuesday. The girls may be different from the women in the group, but they know that every person in the room is there to support each other. They join the group of women as one by one, each of them shares her story.

For their senior service project Masilionis, Neal and Sell have been working with The Justice Project, an organization that provides advocacy for women in various difficult situations such as addiction, homelessness and prostitution, according to their website. The girls meet in a room known as the Willow Tree room every Tuesday with a support group of women who were or are currently prostitutes where each of them gets to share their stories and talk about their lives.

Masilionis first heard about the opportunity through Director of Music Elizabeth Mulkey. Masilionis and Neal were drawn to the project because of its connections to Sion’s upcoming musical, “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” which includes a villain who is involved in human trafficking. They, along with Sell, formed a group and have been working on this project together since.

The girls initially had reservations about talking to these women and weren’t sure they’d be able to relate to them. Masilionis says that she thought it would be hard to identify with them because of contrasting backgrounds.

“I thought it was going to be really uncomfortable because my perspective on life is so different from theirs. Their hardships are a lot harder than mine,” Masilionis said. “They’re so accepting though. We’ve told stories from our lives, and at first I was really shy about it, but they were really supportive.”

After getting over the initial reservations, the girls say that they love the new friendships they have created with the women in their support group. Neal especially appreciates how each of the women are individuals with thier own unique personality, and Masilionis appreciates how supportive each person in the group is. Sell says with them and see them as more than Henne said. with a laugh that despite not being just a statistic. Henne began volunteering with able to relate to them on many levels, “I feel like when you do charity, the Farmer’s House three years ago, they are still able to connect with the you need to see that person face to along with her sister, alumna Michaela women and form relationships with face,” Neal said. “It’s more than just Henne, and junior Margo Gerke. The them. looking down on them. It’s about organization was founded by Henne’s

“Most of their experiences, we humbling yourself and it makes it family friends who were inspired by haven’t experienced at all,” Sell said. more of a lifestyle.” their hopes of giving their autistic son, “Here at Sion, we are in a pretty safe John David, more experience and a community. But we’ve found ways to connect with each other. We just talk Cultivating Confidence chance to meet new people. According to Henne, the to them like they’re normal human As chaos and color fill her field of organization is a nonprofit that teaches beings.” vision, sophomore Catherine Henne people with disabilities the skills to be For the fundraising aspect of soaks in the craziness that grows self-sufficient with the hope that some their senior service project, the girls around her as she waits for the class to can eventually use those skills to work are planning on collecting hygiene begin. Excited, smiling faces surround and live on their own. For John David, products and making them into bags the table as they anticipate the arrival Farmer’s House gives him a place to for the organization to hand out to of friends and the creation of sugary work and interact with other people. women on the streets. They are also treats that await them. The seed is He can do tasks like tie ribbons onto working on getting transportation for planted. the pies or work as a greeter. Tasks like the women in their support group so Every other Tuesday, Henne these, or learning how to bake, give that they can come to a performance joins the Farmer’s House for a kids at the Farmer’s House a chance to of the musical. baking class with young adults who cultivate the skills to be independent,

The girls said that this experience have developmental disabilities. She and are important steps for the kids has taught them that service is more volunteers as a peer model, someone there, the majority of whom are on than just donating food or showing whose job is to have fun with the the autism spectrum or have Down up one time to work someplace. individuals while setting an example syndrome. According to Neal, it is important to for them. The class begins with coloring as work face to face with the people you “Someone like me would be there the class waits for everyone to arrive, are serving so that you can empathize to hang out and keep an eye on them,” allowing the chance to catch up on

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1. Junior Honor Schleicher cares for a cat at Wayside Waifs (photo by Natalie Williams); 2. Senior Olivia Neal sings at a charity concert given by Tri-M to benefit the Defender Foundation, an organization that fights human trafficking (photo by Natalie Sopyla); 3. Senior Madison Masilionis performs a tap routine at Tri-M’s charity concert (photo by Natalie Sopyla); 4. Sophomore Catherine Henne chats with a fellow student at the Farmer’s House (photo by Chloe Barrett); 5. Senior Anna Sell laughs with performer and senior Mena Biraralign before Tri-M’s charity concert. (photo by Natalie Sopyla) ; 6. Catherine Henne assists a young adult at the Farmer’s House with baking. (photo by Chloe Barrett)

what has been going on since the last Her volunteer work has also week. When everyone has arrived, inspired future job possibilities, as the group shifts to the kitchen, where Henne is now considering nursing baking supplies await. Henne and the because of the Farmer’s House. other volunteers assist, but they are not “I’ve thought about my options the ones doing the baking, leaving that of what I want to be when I grow up, up to the bakers. and nursing falls into that category

“Having the baking class teaches of helping people and knowing how them to be independent and hopefully to communicate with people,” Henne one day they can live on their own,” said. Henne said. And Henne is helping people. As

Through the class, Henne said the class comes to a close, the seed is that she has bonded with the bakers. sprouting, thriving under the excited

“I really made a connection with faces sated with sugar and friends and all the kids. If I’m not there one week blooming in a field of chaos and color. then the next week they’ll be like, ‘Oh we missed you, where were you?’” Henne said. Caring for Creatures Henne’s passion for the class and the work she does is clear, according to Gerke. “She knows how to deal with problems that occur and she’s always really compassionate with everyone,” Gerke said. “You can just tell that she loves everyone there just like everyone loves her.” According to Henne, volunteering with the Farmer’s House has taught her to have stronger patience and communication skills. “I’ll ask them a question and they’ll be like, ‘I don’t know’ or something like that,” Henne said. “You have to push them to think about what they want to say.” At her home, there is no dog for her to let out and no cat to jump into her bed while she sleeps. Junior Honor Schleicher lacks the furry best friend she has always desired. “I’ve always loved animals. When I was six I tried to convince my mom to let me adopt a dog,” Schleicher said. “My plan was to go with my dad to get a dog and take it home and hope my mom wouldn’t notice, needless to say it didn’t quite work. I kind of realized that my mom wasn’t going to let us get a pet.” Despite not having a pet of her own, Schleicher now gets to spend time with animals while helping them

The Most Popular Places

To Volunteer

According to Service Learning Coordinator Jessica Hull

1. Sion 2. The Upper Room 3. Churches 4. Animal shelters 5. Hospitals

find a new, loving home. She has determine what kind of personality turned her love for animals into a way they have, which makes it easier for to give back to the community through adopters to find the perfect pet for volunteering at Wayside Waifs, a local them. animal rescue and adoption center. “I’m very happy for [pets that get

“When I first got there I didn’t adopted], I’m kind of sad that I don’t necessarily feel as comfortable get to see them anymore, but it’s good with [working with animals],” Schleicher The for them,” Schleicher said. With a simple said. “I was worried that I would be the one average application process and an extensive program that accidentally loses the dog.” Despite her Sion that serves over 1500 volunteers, Wayside Waifs is the perfect service initial hesitations, she has grown to love student opportunity for any animal lover. the program and the animals she works completes “A lot of the time high school students will have with. “I’ve definitely to come with a guardian,” Customer Experience 48 hours of become more comfortable with it,” she said. “I feel like I service a Manager Whitney Wilson said. “They can dog walk, they can socialize our cats, know a lot more about animals.” year. they can spend time with dogs in our kennels, they

According to can do more hands on Schleicher, it is important for those tasks with our enrichment activities working with the animal to understand for dogs. There’s lots of different things them, as most of them come from that you can do.” homes where their needs were not Hopeful volunteers can fill out an met, and many of the ones who are inquiry at waysidewaifs.org and will be not adopted have unique “personality sent information regarding classes and quirks” that require more than just opportunities to serve. basic knowledge. “The most important thing about

“Occasionally you do have volunteering is that you’re loving what situations where it just didn’t work out you’re doing,” Wilson said. “And that because they didn’t have the funds or while our animals get enrichment the owner wasn’t healthy enough to from it, our volunteers also feel keep them,” she said of the animals enriched from it and that they feel they hosted at the shelter. “But a lot of times really have the ability to give back to you end up with people who didn’t the community and that they’re really understand the animal.” making a difference in the lives of

According to Schleicher, not homeless pets here in Kansas City.” understanding an animal’s needs and Schleicher may not have a pet being ill prepared to take care of a of her own, but she has given many pet is often an issue when it comes to pets an opportunity to find a home of breeding. their own. Rather than giving in and

“There are a lot of animals who accepting her petless life, she made the are in the wrong home because decision to serve the animals in her someone just likes how they look. We community and provide them with the have so many beautiful animals that love and attention they need. come in because whoever adopted “Part of what service is is not them just thought they were pretty saying that you’re better than anyone and didn’t know anything about their else,” Schleicher said. “It doesn’t personality,” Schleicher said. matter if you’re a cat, or an 80 year old

Wayside Waifs works to solve woman, or a twelve year old, you’re this problem by carefully observing still important.” and interacting with their animals to