By Kimberly Wright

Island Forum

The Mercer Island Youth and Family Services youth volunteer programs Summer Volunteer Program (SVP) and Volunteer Outreach in Communities Everywhere (VOICE) are well under way and are continuing to be great learning opportunities for our volunteers and our staff.

More than 210 middle and high school-age youth are spending their summer giving back to our larger community. They are sharing their time recreating with people with disabilities, helping to feed those who are hungry, maintaining the safety of our wonderful trail systems and reaching out to those who are less fortunate at local shelters.

The SVP and VOICE travel throughout King County. This year we have added a few new project sites, including Friends of Youth, Tent City, MS Association’s Ariel House, Ruth Dykeman Children’s Center and Operation Emergency Center. These new projects are allowing us to expand our opportunities to West Seattle, Burien, Redmond and Renton.

The SVP doubled this year and is providing first-time service opportunities and educational experiences to 60 Mercer Island middle school students. Tracy Brazg, the coordinator of SVP, has created a multitude of exceptional opportunities for these young volunteers to reach out their hands, stretch their minds and accomplish great things.

What’s new in SVP? Tracy has added a non-profit speakers’ bureau, educating youth on social issues that affect populations in our greater community such as AIDS, homelessness and dating violence. She has also created a mentor program that matches SVP volunteers with experienced VOICE volunteers and alumni. Not only has this feature added a great deal to the experience of the SVP volunteers, but it has established another level of leadership opportunity for VOICE volunteers and alumni.

James Olson, Jennifer Doane and Shawn Kelly, 2005 SVP leaders and VOICE alumni, are constantly talking about their volunteers taking big risks, challenging their comfort zones, asking many great questions and making a lot of positive change while having a lot fun!

“I’ve been really impressed with the dedication that these younger students have shown to the program as well as their helpfulness during projects,” says James Olson.

In its twelfth year, VOICE is as strong as ever. The primary reason is that the students involved in this program are exceptional. They are committed, conscientious, hardworking and willing to learn. The organizations with which they volunteer realize this, and those of us who have the opportunity to work with them realize this as well. I am consistently astounded by their efforts, flexibility and work ethic.

The second great strength of the 2005 program has been the staff, many of whom are VOICE graduates. They continue to foster incredible relationships with the youth and create a strong respect and team with each other. The highlight of my day is talking with the volunteers and staff after projects, hearing their stories and seeing their excitement when recapping their service. The energy of both the volunteers and the staff is what I will remember most about this year.

All of the volunteers this summer are making some crucial connections to their community in ways that foster future interest and concern for its well-being. Many of the youth have been challenged to look at the world in a different way and each day we succeed in our attempts to improve life for others.

As an SVP/ VOICE leader, the feeling of coming away from a project and knowing that the youth have learned something about the sharing of self, forming friendships around a common desire to do something for others, and the benefits of teamwork is unmatched.

As the VOICE coordinator, I am tremendously proud of what they are doing to broaden themselves and help others. Many thanks have come from our more than 60 different non-profit project partners expressing their gratitude to the volunteers, their families and this community for supporting these wonderful opportunities.

Here are a few words from the sites: “Thank you VOICE, your volunteers are friendly, responsive and conscientious.” “We couldn’t succeed with our events without you!”

Kim Wright is the VOICE coordinator for Mercer Island Youth and Family Services.