Volunteerism is a driving aspect of the Leo Club, and members of the club find enjoyment in helping those who need it. The Hamburg chapter of the Leo Club, along with Governor Mifflin’s Service learning Club, reached out to three organizations from March 20 to 23 and offered their help wherever it was needed. Six students went on the trip, being chaperoned by Miss McCarthy, the club’s advisor. The students that attended the trip were Victoria Baumert, Leah Bertschy, Shannon Kemp, Taylor Millette and Kiana Wright. Shannon Kemp, a student that attended Hamburg in the past, joined to go on the trip as well. It was the third year of trips for three of the students, the second year for two and one member experienced their first trip of their Leo Club experience.
The first day of the trip involved settling into the makeshift home at a local church in Oak Hall, Virginia. The students that attended became acquainted with their fellow workers from Governor Mifflin. They played games with each other and made conversation in order to get to know each other. The lights at the church went out at 10 p.m., where the students slept on the floor with sleeping bags they brought for the trip. The mornings started early at 6 a.m. with a homemade breakfast that usually consisted of eggs or cereal. Depending on what activity was planned for the day, the groups left at 7 or 8 a.m.
The next day consisted of the group working on constructing a house with Habitat for Humanity. They worked for seven hours. Students from both schools were split up and assigned different jobs. Most of the students worked on nailing support into the roof. Others helped beautify the property; they mowed the grass surrounding the house and picked up garbage and used nails. Toward the end of the construction experience, students focused on nailing supports into the corners of the beams to secure them. Afterward, the group was gifted a T-shirt, a bumper sticker and a pen from Habitat from Humanity and visited one of the worker’s farms.
The second day of the trip the two groups drove to Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge to work at the Visitors’ Center. The main goal of both clubs was to help beautify the area. Groups were separated and assigned tasks such as raking, collecting mulch and transferring it to the beautification site. After the work was completed for the day, the two groups were taken on a tour of the island where they visited the beaches, saw the ponies and learned how the island functions. That evening, they left to to Baltimore, Maryland and settled into the Quinta hotel. The next day, the volunteer experience was working at Baltimore Veterans’ Affairs Community Living and Rehabilitation Center.
The work at the VA consisted of interacting with the veterans and making sure they enjoyed themselves. The groups played games and sang karaoke with them. The veterans told stories of their experiences in wars such as World War II and Vietnam. Although some veterans were hesitant to interact with the students, they still thoroughly enjoyed themselves and expressed their gratitude.
“I really enjoyed the trip and these trips helped me become closer to my friends,” said volunteer Leah Bertschy. “My time and service helped someone in need of a home get a home, helped clean up our environment and made veterans happy.”
It is something the students from both schools will never forget.
