Servicing the Community

The cars rush by on the road as members of Key Club participate in their annual Adopt-a-Street event. Many clubs at JA like Key Club require their members to do a certain amount of community service hours.

Cadence Fredricey participates in essential volunteer work to help people who do not have as many resources and opportunities. She does this to earn the recognition for Key Club and National Honors Society.

“I have helped package food for homeless people and organize and sort through supplies for that,” Fredricey said.

There are multiple opportunities for students to participate in community service events to help them obtain all the required hours. However, these events usually have limited volunteering spots. This presents a challenge for some students to get all their hours in.

“I think that because [community service] is such a big part of Key Club and NHS, that if you want to be doing community service there are definitely ways you can do it through the school,” Fredricey stated.

On the other hand, some students believe that JA should have more opportunities for students to volunteer and give back to the community. This is because in other clubs, community service is not a requirement or a driving part of that club, so it can be hard to find opportunities to volunteer.

“We definitely should do [community service] more. I don't feel like it should be a definite you-have-to-do-this sort of thing, but it would be very helpful if there was a way you could get some sort of incentive for doing it, because you can do it more and realize you’re making the world better,” sophomore Rylee Cox said.

Whether or not a student thinks that JA has enough opportunities for community service can depend on their opinion of volunteering and community service in general.

“I’ve always been a fan of community service. I’ve always been a fan of helping people, so I always view it as something everybody should do at least once,” Eva Richling said. 

How students can help when they are volunteering all depends on where and how they help volunteer. Richling volunteers at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and at the Denver Zoo. 

“I know [volunteering] helps the museum because it lessens their strain on prices and that type of thing so they don’t have to keep as much staff employed,” Richling said.

Kyla Stephens volunteers at Precious Child and helps them sort clothes and move donated sports equipment. She does not do it for any specific club but volunteers on her own. She also helps run kids camps and the nursery at her church. Stephens believes also that volunteering and community service help the people who are doing them as well as the people who are receiving the service.

Stephens explained, “I think especially at Precious Child, it helps them feel normal, like they’re not getting low quality items. They’re not getting stuff with stains on them because all the clothes have to go through sorting posts. And I think they feel more seen. They feel like they are getting nice and real things. And they are.”