This is the first in a series of profiles of Volunteer Fairfax award winners and nominees from the Reston area.
Community service is not about awards. It’s about helping people. But when volunteers go beyond the ordinary, they are bound to be recognized.
Last week, Volunteer Fairfax awarded the South Lakes Student Government Association and the leadership class with the volunteer service award in the youth group category. Over the years, the group has spent thousands of hours doing community service.
So where were these students the morning of the award ceremony April 21? Well, it was a school day, so they were at school. But right after school, they went to tutor Dogwood Elementary students like they do every Thursday. It wasn’t until the next day that they took a moment to celebrate and pat each other on the back for their distinguished service.
“It was an unexpected surprise,” said Megan Myers, the sophomore class vice president. “[Community service] is not an obligation for us, it’s an opportunity,” she said.
“We had fun doing it,” said Amber Carson, the sophomore class secretary, speaking of all the community service activities that the group had done — which was a lot.
THROUGH THE SEAHAWK Tsunami Relief Challenge, the students collected donations from the student body, parents, faculty and others in the Reston community.
“We raised $15,000 for relief efforts for the tsunami,” said Denell Davis, the school secretary. “We were going to the cafeteria for that everyday.”
The students tutored at Dogwood and Hunters Woods elementary schools. They helped in the Special Olympics, providing one of the basketball host sites and volunteering to serve as “huggers,” referees, clock managers and score keepers.
The group coordinated a Spring Clean-Up, a massive cleaning effort for the area around the school. They also conducted a literacy book drive that benefited needy children in the community.
During the holidays, the students led the Thanksgiving canned food drive. The school collected more than 1,000 cans, which were donated to a local food bank. And in December, the group collected money to sponsor a needy family at South Lakes.
Myers said that she and her fellow volunteers worked for the enjoyment of working for others and served for the sake of serving.
“It makes us all better people and we can feel good about it,” said Davis of their commitment to community service.
Lindsay Trout, the South Lakes girls’ basketball coach and SGA sponsor, accepted the award on behalf of the students.