Youth Volunteer Corps Kicks Off Its Summer Of Service Program: First Stop, Newtown

By Shannon Hicks

The Youth Volunteer Corps of Western Connecticut (YVCWC) kicked off its third annual Summer of Service program — five weeks of community service throughout the greater Danbury region — at Make A Home Foundation in Newtown earlier this month. Nineteen young adults spent three days at the High Bridge Road facility for the first of five scheduled projects, according to Samantha Sommerer, program coordinator for YVCWC.

“We work on a project site 9 am until 3 pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,” Ms Sommerer told The Bee last week. “We have youth volunteers from many surrounding towns: Newtown, Sandy Hook, Danbury, New Fairfield, Brookfield, Bethel, Ridgefield, and Redding. We even have some youth from New York.”

Enlisted to paint a mural and organize the Make A Home warehouse July 10–12, the group “helped move items clear across the warehouse, they did a lot of dusting and cleaning, rearranging and organizing of items, and putting together shelving units,” said Ms Sommerer. “Additionally, the youth designed and painted an amazing mural depicting the mission and work of Make a Home Foundation.”

The Make A Home Foundation, Inc is dedicated to providing free furniture, appliances, clothing, and other items to veterans, families, and individuals who are homeless, either due to temporary circumstances or those problems that are ongoing. Thanks to the generosity of Newtown and area residents, Make A Home Foundation, Inc, founded in Sandy Hook in 2010, and originally operated out of offices at 87 Church Hill Road, has grown so quickly that founders Anita Pettengill and Dan Telesco needed to make a new home for the quantity of home items they have collected. Since August 2011, Ms Pettengill and Mr Telesco have been housing donations in a warehouse at 40 High Bridge Road in Botsford.

“The Make A Home Foundation was impressed with how much work the youth volunteers were able to complete,” Ms Sommerer said.

YVCWC will continue to mobilize close to 40 youth between the ages of 11 and 18 to perform various service-learning projects at five different nonprofit agencies. Those youth will not only get the community service experience that can be transformative, they will be learning about the important programs that each agency provides to the community, the needs of their clients, and the difference that their volunteer efforts will have on the work that they do.

“Programs like the Summer of Service are a great way for youth to develop their leadership skills, expand their understanding and knowledge of our community, and create lifelong friendships,” said Ms Sommerer. “For many of the volunteers, last summer was their first time volunteering; they left the Summer of Service transformed by their experience.

“The fact that so many of them are returning and bringing their friends along this year is a testament not only to how much fun they had, but also to the personal value they place on this program,” she added.

YVCWC, a program of The Volunteer Center of United Way of Western Connecticut, is the only affiliate of The Youth Volunteer Corps of America in the state of Connecticut. During the school year, youth volunteer after school and on weekends and come together regularly to reflect upon their experiences and help to shape and advise future volunteer activities.

YVCWC is committed to helping youth realize their full potential as agents of positive change in their local communities. It is a youth-driven volunteer program for young people that engages them in projects that are challenging, rewarding, and educational to serve the needs of the community and promote a lifetime ethic of service.

Young adults participate in year-round service-learning projects as well as a multiple-week-long Summer of Service.

Philecia Seipio, 13, of Danbury, began volunteering with YVCWC in October, when she needed four hours of community service for the National Junior Honor Society at her school. She completed her community service within a week by tutoring in an after-school program, and then continued to volunteer, she said, “because I enjoyed it.”

Philecia, who will be a high school freshman this fall, likes that volunteers “do get a choice as to what projects we work on. There are different assignments that are given out and if you don’t particularly like the assignment you can switch jobs.”

YVCWC members were at Wooster Cemetery in Danbury last week, clearing and marking trails and building a foot bridge; and they were scheduled to spend July 24–26 in New Milford, helping historical society members prepare for an upcoming fundraiser. The young adults were also scheduled to have a guided tour of New Milford Historical Society & Museum.

For July 31–August 2, young adults will be at Tarrywile Park in Danbury, where they will clear trails, build a fence, and develop educational signs related to the property’s wetlands. The crew for that week is already full, according to The Volunteer Center of Greater Danbury (which helps coordinate the program), but the following week there are still some openings available.

August 7–9 will see a return to Wooster Cemetery, where volunteers will do some work on the headstones in the veterans’ section of the cemetery for two days. For the third day, the young adults will visit the New Street station of the City of Danbury Fire Department. There, they will learn about fire safety and spend some time cleaning equipment.

“To join, all you need is to be between the ages of 11 and 18,” said Ms Sommerer. “Youth volunteers can choose to do any number of weeks. Some come for all five, others come for three, and some come for just one week.”

Transportation is provided for volunteers who are not yet driving.

“All of the youth volunteers are picked up and dropped off at each site. Some of them may travel together, a few drive themselves,” she said. For additional information on Summer of Service or to enroll in the program, contact Samantha Sommerer at 203-797-1154 or send e-mail to samantha.sommerer@uwwesternct.org.