Vineyard Gazette
New Island Pushes Volunteerism
Speaker Morgan Hauck
Friday, October 6, 2000
"What's a word for helping others?" Morgan Hauck asked Chilmark students
"Volunteer," said seven-year-old Dakota del Viento.
Morgan traveled from Providence, R.I., to speak at seven school assemblies
this week, sharing her excitement about helping others through City Year.
After graduating from the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, she
decided to give two years of her life to City Year and help disadvantaged
kids. Inviting students to participate in Make a Difference Day, she
said, "If I can do it five days a week, you can do it for one day,"
adding, "You can make a difference, too."
For the last 10 years, millions of people across the country have been
organizing service projects in their communities on this national day
of service. The Stone Soup Foundation is working with teachers, parents
and community organizations to create the first Make a Difference Day,
set for Oct. 28 on Martha's Vineyard. "It's about bringing people together
to accomplish many things in one day," says Ted Morgan, co-chairman of the
event. "I can't say enough about it. It's such a worthwhile venture."
Mr. Morgan was one of the Stone Soup Community Heroes who spoke at the
assemblies, sharing his wisdom with students. "Be a volunteer," he
encouraged the kids. Another Stone Soup hero, sixth-grader Anna Markwica,
shared her story about helping a Brazilian classmate. She said, "I just
thought I was a friend, and I was a hero." Arthur Wortzel gave students
an appreciation for our country's unique legacy of service. "We are the
only country in the world that encourages volunteerism." His closing
remark to all West Tisbury students was: "It's never too early to
volunteer."
Make a Difference Day coordinators Tisha Capello and Collen Leland
described the various service projects: creating an environmental
museum of native plants at Sheriff's Meadow Sanctuary and helping rid
the sanctuary of alien invaders (non-native plants); painting a wildlife
mural with English and Portuguese labeling at Feix Neck; helping with
Habitat for Humanity's first house by readying the Habitat work truck;
or reading to children. "Reading to children enriches my life;" said
Ethel Sherman. "My three grandchildren visit once a year, so I miss
them," she says. Ethel invites others to join her for the Make a
Difference Day Readathon at all six libraries, the Tisbury Senior
Center, Hillside Village and the Family Center.
Other organizations are creating special projects for this day. The
Trustees of Reservation are holding their second annual "Conservation
Works" volunteer Day; high school students will participate in City
Year's Servathon; and the Boys Scouts and schools are organizing
beautification and other service projects.
At the school assemblies, students learned about the value of community
service and teamwork. Morgan asked students at the Charter School to
participate in a team building exercise and then asked them, "What did
you learn?" Jason Willoughby replied, "Teamwork." Others said
flexibility, communication, cooperation.
"Make a Difference Day will be a lot of fun -and you can fulfill up to
eight hours of your community service requirement," explained Edgartown
teacher, Betsy Hauck. Most middle school students are required to perform
18 hours of community service to graduate. Guidance counselor Jeff Agnoli
reminded high school students what colleges look for on student profiles.
In his remarks at the high school assembly, he noted that in addition to
good grades, colleges look for community service activities.
Students were given fliers to bring home to their families. Edgartown
Principal Ed Jerome told students, "The assembly was created to make
you aware of Make a Difference Day. Now it's up to each one of you to
make a decision about helping." When Colleen Leland told Oak Bluffs
students about the Felix Neck wildlife mural with bilingual labels,
three Brazilian students immediately signed up.
"My daughter learned a big lesson when raising money for Kosovo refugees.
She could make a difference, and many people were ready to help her,"
says Tisha Capello. "Teaching our children about their opportunity -
and responsibility - to give back to our community is the key to a better
world."
Everyone is invited to do something for Make A Difference Day. You can
drop off yard sale items at the After School Program (Cottager's Building)
or lightweight, summer baby clothes and sewing supplies for Muriel
Laverty's trip to Nicaragua at the Tisbury School or help stock the
Island Food Pantry shelves. "On Monday morning, it would be great if
students and everyone on the Island were talking about the fun they had
and the difference we all made on that one day helping our community."
"My dad was a Barnbuster," Margot Becker proudly responded when asked if
anyone knew the story about the building of new Agricultural Hall.
"That's great!" replied Colleen Leland. "We'd like to invite all the
Barnbusters to join us for a reunion on Make a Difference Day." A
community potluck celebration will be held on Oct. 28, at 5 p.m.
Make A Difference Day kicks off the Celebration of Heroes project,
a year-long initiative with schools and the Vineyard community.
This fall, everyone will have an opportunity to be a "hero."
In the winter, students will learn about "the hero's journey"
by listening to Stone Soup Community Heroes and reading stories from
Stone Soup for the World. Next spring, students will again invite the
community to vote for their favorite heroes, and next summer, those
heroes will be celebrated in a community event.
Vineyard teachers - including some who have participated in the Stone Soup
Leadership Institute - will use the book, Stone Soup for the World and the
Leader's Guide to integrate the day's themes - environment, literacy,
hunger, art, seniors, global village, a day of service - into their
curriculum. A volunteer database is also being developed to connect
students and others with volunteer opportunities throughout the year.
"By coming together and recognizing the needs of the Island, we will
help our kids, the elderly and our community," says Bob Tankard, West
Tisbury School principal and project co-chairman. "It's about caring.
About teaching people to care for each other."
If you are interested in being part of Make a Difference Day by
volunteering with one of these projects or using this day to create
a project with your organization, call 696-8237 or e-mail:
soup4world@aol.com.
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