SUMMER OF SERVICE

By: Generation SERVE Summer Volunteer-a-Thon Participants

All summer long, we have been encouraging youth to volunteer for 10 or more hours as part of our Summer Volunteer-a-Thon for our 10th birthday! To recap their summer of service, we spoke to five of our youth volunteers: 9-year-old Mae Villarreal, 12-year-old Julia Garcia, 11-year-old Jewel Kinvig, 7-year-old Cannon Ignal and 10-year-old William Beaver.

Why did you decide to participate in Generation SERVE's Summer Volunteer-a-Thon?

Mae: I thought it would be pretty cool to volunteer over the summer. I volunteered during the school year with Generation SERVE and had a lot of fun and learned a lot.
Julia: I really enjoy volunteering. That’s why I wanted to participate.
Jewel: Happy Birthday to Generation SERVE! I wanted to do the Volunteer-a-Thon because Generation SERVE is turning the big 1-0. After volunteering during the school year, why stop for summer? I love to volunteer year-round. 
Cannon: I wanted to participate because I like helping people.
William: Because I think it is fun.

What community service did you do this summer?

Mae: I volunteered at the Good Neighbor Settlement House. They help people who are seeking asylum in the United States. I did different things like help make King Ranch Casserole so people who don't have homes can have food. I served the food to people who are coming to the United States seeking asylum and helped make hygiene bags for them. The hygiene bags had deodorant, toothpaste, a toothbrush, a towel, and some shampoo and conditioner. We also made snack bags for people who were going on a bus or a plane to somewhere else in the United States to see their families.
Julia: I volunteered at the Austin Diaper Bank, cleaned up Bartholomew Park, recycled many recyclables, created dog toys and brought them to the animal shelter, created leashes with Austin Pets Alive! and made LifeBooks with STARRY.
Jewel: I was in Canada this summer, so I decided to volunteer in Nipissing Village. It is the tiny community that my mom grew up in. This summer, they did their second annual Pie-Fest. People bake pies and donate the pies to the museum, then on Pie-Fest, people come to buy a slice of pie, with all of the money going to the museum. I love to bake, so I baked two Key Lime pies to donate, and also volunteered as a waitress to serve pies. 
Cannon: I made a thousand sandwiches for people that don't have food or money to buy food. I got to load the truck with all the sandwiches I made. I donated lots of soap and food to the food pantry. I helped my mom make birthday boxes for foster or homeless children so they can have a special day. I played bingo at the nursing home with the residents.
William: I worked at the garden, read to shelter dogs, made cat toys for shelter cats, volunteered at Austin Creative Reuse sorting donations and participated in the Summer Volunteer-a-Thon.

What was your favorite volunteer experience from this summer?

Mae: My favorite experience was all of it! I liked making the hygiene bags. It was nice to help other people who aren't from this country. I liked serving the food because it was nice seeing the smiles on people's faces when we served them. They didn't have a lot of food when they got there and so a lot of people wanted seconds.
Julia: My favorite experiences were making LifeBooks for STARRY and making dog toys.
Jewel: I loved doing the Pie-Fest. I love to bake, so this was a way to do something I love and help a new organization. It was neat that some people knew who I was, even though I didn't know them, because of my family. I got to meet new friends while waitressing and I got to help the Nipissing Village Museum, which I had never done before. I thought it was neat that they reached out to me as a helper because of knowing how much I volunteer in Austin and knowing that I love to bake. 
Cannon: My favorite volunteering was playing bingo with the elderly at the nursing home. They get happy when they see children because many of the residents don't ever get visitors so it makes them smile to see kids.
William: My favorite part was working on the garden. I liked that we got to work with plants!

How did you feel after volunteering?

Mae: After volunteering, I felt happy because I knew that I helped a bunch of people. It made me realize how lucky I am to have the stuff I have like my toys and friends. Some people had to leave their friends and their stuff behind. It's hard going through all of that trouble when you're just a little kid or baby.
Julia: Volunteering makes me feel good inside. This summer made me feel so inspired that last week, when I heard that two of my friends had a rough summer with a genetic disease called Friedreich’s Ataxia, I decided to help in anyway I could. I love finger knitting so I decided to raise money and knit from the heart to help support my friends. I call it Knitting to KNOCK Out FA. I turned 12 at the beginning of August so I used my birthday money to buy yarn and all the money I collect from selling my beanie hats, blankets, scarves and bags will go to FARA (Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance), an organization helping those living with FA. They help my friends with research to find a cure!
Cannon: Volunteering is good. I like doing it.
William: It made me feel very happy.

What did you learn from your volunteer experience?

Mae: I learned that we should be thankful for what we have because some people in other countries have nothing and work really hard. These kids are really brave for going through what they're going through because it's definitely really hard to go through what they did. We should treat them kindly and be good friends.
Julia: When I put volunteering into motion, it inspired me to keep going, keep giving and keep spreading small acts of kindness through my volunteer work everywhere I go.
Jewel: I learned that no matter where you are, even in another country, there is alway volunteer work to do and ways to help others!
Cannon: I learned I can make people have happy days like I like to have.
William: Doing little things can make a difference and affect everyone.  

If you would like to support Julia’s Knitting to KNOCK Out FA initiative by purchasing one of her handknit goods, email her mother Martha at [email protected].

Mae Villarreal serves food to asylees at Good Neighbor Settlement House in Brownsville, Texas.

Julia Garcia wears a knitted beanie she made for her Knitting to KNOCK Out FA initiative.

Jewel Kinvig shows off the Key Lime pie she made to support the Nipissing Village Museum.

Cannon Ignal with a birthday box he made for Happy Birthdays.

William Beaver tending to Adelphi Acre Community Garden.

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​Thank you Shearman & Sterling, our exclusive Summer Volunteer-a-Thon sponsor, ​for making this summer-long celebration possible!

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