This season’s holiday heroes
Junior Adrianne Seiden
Seiden volunteers at the homeless shelter, Maple Street.
What makes your volunteering experience special?
Around the holidays we make cards and flower arrangements or give gifts during the meetings for hospitals or family services. We get to make cute holiday things for the ‘chilluns’ and old people, and just giving, it’s holiday-y! And there’s an adorable man at Maple Street who loves everything, and the people clap at the end of the meal and smile and it’s nice.
Why do you volunteer?
Volunteering gets you more into the holiday spirit!
English Teacher Vicki Daniel
Daniel volunteers through Temple Beth El.
What did you while volunteering?
We put carrots in the huge bins into these three pound bags. We had to discard the unusable ones. We made three pound bags, and other people were tying those bags while others were weighing them. Then that goes out to different food banks and shelters where people can eat it.
Why do you think people should volunteer?
I think that people tend to get so wrapped up in their own lives. They feel stressed, and it’s so easy to forget about other people. I think that just taking some time to just step out of your own cocoon to go and help others is important.
Junior Alyssa Block
Block volunteers through Shelter Network and the Samaritan House.
What do you do when holiday volunteering?
We have days when kids can come and pick out gifts that have been donated if they don’t have money to buy the gifts themselves. For a party, we usually help set-up in the beginning. Then the kids will come and we do arts and crafts. Sometimes we’ll help sort toys or clothes or donations.
How has volunteering over the holidays affected you?
When I first started working at the organization, I did not know what “philanthropy” meant. It’s helped me get involved with my church. It’s just made me more thankful. Helping people just makes me happy.
