Sophomore Josh Kuhn began volunteering as a result of his brother's influence. Photo by: Guadalupe Ortiz

By Guadalupe Ortiz

From helping at a food drive to raking leaves for a neighbor, volunteer work is important to PHS students.

Every person has a different reason behind his or her volunteer work. Sophomore Josh Kuhn says, “I mainly volunteer because I love making a difference.” Kuhn began volunteering through his older brother, who started to get him involved in things that he did. Other students become involved with volunteering in different ways. Sophomore Cassandra Quissell began volunteering through Key Club.

Volunteer work changes by the type of things people do while volunteering. Senior Mariah Bowen volunteers for her aunt’s organization, Michiana Down Syndrome. Bowen says, “I help setup and tear down for different events they have. I also interact with the kids who have Down Syndrome in between setup and tear down.” Another student who works with kids is sophomore Cristina Chavez. Chavez states, “I volunteer in the after-school program in Jefferson Elementary. I also randomly babysit my neighbors children when they absolutely need me. I tutor three siblings that go to the Washington Academy every Wednesday at their house.”

Freshman Katelyn Berg spends ten hours of her free time a week at the neighborhood center, school activities, and local carnival. Photo by: Guadalupe Ortiz

For some students the amount of time that they volunteer is important. Junior Travis Tredway tries to volunteer at least one hour per week. Tredway adds in, “When counting weekends, I usually reach about 4 or 5 hours per week.” However, where students volunteer, for how long, or how they began is not all that is behind volunteering.

Both sophomore Kylee Rippy and freshman Katelyn Berg say that they do not volunteer specifically for anything. They just volunteer where the help is needed.