With a passion for helping her community, junior Lauren Madison took on the task of volunteering at her local Claude Moore Community Builders to assist preschool kids with their language development. 

Q: What got you into volunteering?

A:[I got into volunteering] because I thought it would be impressive on résumés and applications for college and also jobs, [along with] honor societies or clubs you’re in.

Q: What is the most rewarding part?

A: I did a program and I felt the most rewarding part was continuously volunteering with [the program] and seeing how much impact or change I had on the program itself.

Q: What was the program? 

A: For my hours, I was doing “Claude Moore Community Builders,” which allowed me to get the 100 hours [because] it gave me volunteer opportunities. The specific program that I did, which gave me 50 hours, was with a preschool program called ‘All Ages Read Together.’ It’s a free program for kids who are going into kindergarten and need a little extra help with reading and learning how to speak.

Q: What specifically did you enjoy about working with the kids? 

A: I thought it was really fun getting to know the kids and knowing that I’m a trusted adult that they could go to, or if they just needed someone to play with, they would come to me. Also [considering] that they didn’t even know how to spell their own names before getting into kindergarten or knowing any of the colors, it was impressive to see how quickly they could learn if they just had someone pay attention to them and put time into them.

Q: What did you teach them? 

A: We taught them typical letters, and how to spell their name, and we had them trace the alphabet so they could get used to writing in general. Other simple tasks like following directions and coloring so they would know that they’re able to be in a classroom environment or setting them up for that because some of these families couldn’t afford to put them in any preschools, and this was [the kids’] way of catching up [so they would be prepared].

Q: Was it just for non-English speakers?

A: The [preschool] was in Sterling, and a lot of the kids’ first language wasn’t English, but there were a few who spoke English but didn’t have the resources to completely learn everything, so it all really depends.

Q: Why is volunteering important to you?

A: Volunteering is most important to me because it was a way to fill my time that helped others, and it benefitted both me [and the people I was helping]. 

Q: Did it take up all of your time?

A: I didn’t complete all of my hours in a day, and as long as I did [a certain amount of hours] in a day, it was fine and not time-consuming to do it. When I was volunteering, I did two shifts of the preschool program from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., but sometimes it would vary, and I had a two-hour break in between. After that, I was still able to have plans or do stuff after I volunteered. It wasn’t my whole day. I could still uphold my job and hang out with my friends afterward.

Q: How do you get into volunteer work?

A: [To get into volunteering], I would recommend looking at the Smore emails because they have a lot of opportunities or SignUp Genius. When you search for typical programs in our area, a lot comes up. There’s Mobile Hope, there are certain organizations that need volunteers, and it’s really easy to find available opportunities. And if you’re in any Honor Societies or Key Club, they give you opportunities.

Q: How did you find Claude Moore Community Builders?

A: I found Claude Moore Community Builders through the Smore email. CMCB is a thirty-people program and they’re nonprofit but there is a grant that you get when you apply. I researched more about it later and decided to apply. The application process. You need one application from a teacher or a trusted adult, and you need to answer a series of questions with a paragraph, but they were [basic] questions. In order to complete the program, you need 100 hours, and if you complete it, you get a Presidential Award.

Madison encourages her peers to take part in this rewarding program. Not only is it a great way to help those around you, but you can get volunteer hours for clubs as well making it a win-win situation.