Last year around this time, Kristi Stilen-Lare sat down with a group of high-school students to learn a few things about her job. Stilen-Lare works for Loudoun Cares. The organization was formed in 2002 to develop the nonprofit infrastructure in Loudoun County. Its mission: to create and sustain a nonprofit human service center that provides information and referral services for residents. Stilen-Lare’s goal was to figure out what it would take for more teens to volunteer at local nonprofits.
"Anytime you sit down with teenagers you learn a lot," she said. "Teens are interested in volunteer work, but they don’t want to get stuck answering telephones or stuffing envelopes. We had to figure out how to get them to come out and keep coming back."
Loudoun Cares developed the Claude Moore Community Builders Program, named after its sponsor, the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation, to bridge the gap between teenagers in search of meaningful volunteer work and nonprofits in search of reliable teens.
The Claude Moore Community Foundation donated money to Loudoun Cares in January to pilot the Community Builders Program.
IN ORDER TO participate in the program, students must fill out a somewhat extensive application.
"This is not your typical volunteer sheet, you fill it out, turn it in, quick, quick," Stilen-Lare said. "But at the same time, it is not an overwhelming one. We just want to get a good idea of what the candidate’s interests are."
The application includes questions about the student’s favorite classes, what they plan on studying in college or what career they might pursue after high school.
"We want to pair teens with nonprofits as close to their interests as possible," Stilen-Lare said.
For example, if a student expresses interest in working with animals, Loudoun Cares will do its best to match them with a nonprofit that works with animals, like Friends of Homeless Animals.
"Hopefully, they might become lifelong volunteers," she said.
The application also requires parent/guardian permission because of the 83 hours the program requires.
If the applicant is accepted, he or she is required to complete 40 hours of community service at a local nonprofit, 15 additional hours of community service at special events, 10 hours on a group project, 12 hours on curriculum days and six hours of program orientation.
The students will be required to create a community involvement project at the end of the eight-month-long program. The students have to come up with a project that betters the community in some way and carry it out from start to finish.
"Because it’s the first year, we really don’t know what to expect," Stilen-Lare said, "but we want it to be a well-rounded experience, we want them to work together and we want them to want to come back."
LOUDOUN COUNTY HIGH-school sophomore JoAnna Weeks recently downloaded the application. After careful review, the 16-year-old decided to apply to the program because, she said, she was looking for a meaningful way to spend her free time.
"There are lots of volunteer opportunities around here, but there not very involved," Weeks said. "Sometimes volunteering feels more like you’re just doing a task rather than making a difference. I want an opportunity to contribute my own ideas. It’s personal."
The program begins in June 2007 and ends at the end of January 2008, so only rising sophomores, juniors and seniors are eligible to apply.
"We want them to be able to volunteer not only in the summer, but through the holiday season," Stilen-Lare said.
Loudoun Cares will take on 25 students in its first year. If the program is a success, it will request additional funding and hopefully, be able to reach out to more students and help out more local nonprofits.
Working on a small team appeals to Weeks because she said it provides opportunities for students to get a real hands-on experience.
"It’s not like we’re volunteering with a school or a big group," she said. "We would be doing things that really mean something to us on a personal level. And it sounds like everybody will get a chance to be heard."
Throughout the program, Stilen-Lare and her team will evaluate the students.
"We want as much feedback as possible," she said. "We really want to hear from them what they like, what works, what doesn’t work."
Students must submit applications for Claude Moore Community Builders Program, which is available on the Loudoun Cares Web site, www.loudouncares.org, by Thursday, May 31. The application requires a letter of recommendation from a teacher, guidance counselor or school official.
Stilen-Lare said the nonprofit groups wanted what the teens she interviewed had to offer.
"Now we just have to get the puzzle to fit together."
WEEKS IS NO STRANGER to volunteerism.
For the past few summers, Weeks spent her free time at the Loudoun Therapeutic Riding Foundation at Morven Park in Leesburg. Weeks worked with therapeutic riding horses and children with physical and mental disabilities.
"I really enjoy working outdoors and I’ve always liked animals, so I would hope to do something along those lines," she said.