Woodside Priory service fair opens volunteer options for students Woodside Priory service fair opens volunteer options for students (December 17, 2003)

With bright sun, floating balloons and students strolling among booths lining "Red Square" -- the red brick plaza and meeting place at Woodside Priory School -- the scene could have been a carnival. Actually, it was the school's first Community Service Fair, where students learned about the range of volunteer options.

Representatives from a dozen local organizations came to the campus for the recent fair, organized by the Campus Ministry Club.

Priory students are required to give 20 hours a year in service, with at least 10 hours for the same community-based organization.

The fair was geared to inspire thoughtful choices, said junior Julia Duncan, the club's spokesperson. Students learned about saving children, animals and sand dunes; feeding the hungry; fighting cancer; and helping children learn to read.

"Last year, a lot of students weren't sure what they wanted to do, so they waited until close to the deadline and almost didn't complete their hours," said Julia. "We thought this would help everyone."

"The groups we contacted were very enthusiastic about coming," she said. They want high school students among their volunteers because they'll be around 10 years from now still working with them, she explained.

Building a lifelong habit of service is an important goal of the Priory's graduation requirement, said Therese Inkmann, campus ministry coordinator.

"The process can start anywhere, but my hope is that eventually many of our students will become a bridge between the people who have, and those who need," Ms. Inkmann said. "Gandhi said we all can be the change we want to see in the world, and that is the model we are trying to create here."

During the fair, students could choose to play a fact-finding "scavenger hunt" game. They visited booths, collected facts and had their game sheets stamped. Students who surveyed at least eight organizations were rewarded at the end with a free dress pass -- allowing them to shed school uniforms for a day, said club member Will Farino, who helped with the game.

Students were actively engaged, clustering in groups, comparing notes, and talking over options with representatives from the various organizations.

The fair opened with a speech by Laiah Idelson of Las Lomas High School in the East Bay, representing Kids Can Free The Children International. She told of an eye-opening trip to Nicaragua she made when she was in middle school, during which she saw a 10-year-old boy named Pastor -- who suffered from bedsores, malnutrition and lack of medical care -- die.

Returning to the United States, she was determined to help relieve the suffering of children, she said. She challenged students to educate themselves, join others willing to make changes, and help educate others.

Participating organizations included: Arastradero Preserve Stewardship Program, Habitat for Humanity, Half Moon Bay Dune Restoration, Safe Rides, Pets in Need, Portola Valley Library, Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula, Accessible Recreation Activities Program of Redwood City, Lytton Gardens, Second Harvest Food Bank, Palo Alto Community Child Care, and American Cancer Society.

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