Plackemeier, now a 17-year-old senior at Rockhurst High School, stays with the program because he likes it so much.
The Youth Volunteer Corps recruits young people ages 11 through 18 to volunteer.
“We are breaking down the stereotype that community service means picking up trash,” said assistant program director Paul Marksbury. “It’s so much more.”
As Plackemeier has learned.
“It’s cool,” he said. “One thing: You get to meet the people who do it as a full-time job.”
He plans to keep volunteering as an adult, either with the Peace Corps or Engineers Without Borders.
The Youth Volunteers Corps thrives on its variety.
Right now, students can volunteer after school on Thursdays, reading and helping with homework at Operation Breakthrough, a child-care center for low-income families. Or they can spend some time on Tuesday afternoons at Posada Del Sol, a nursing home, playing bingo or just hanging out. And then there is Special Olympics basketball in Kansas City, Kan., on Saturday mornings.
In addition, each Saturday morning offers two or three programs ranging from the Hope House domestic violence shelter to the Bridging the Gap recycling project to the Kansas City Community Kitchen.
In the summer, four volunteer opportunities are offered each week for eight weeks.
Marksbury sees many benefits for the youths, especially for those who are shy or feel that they don’t fit in at school.
“It boosts them up,” Marksbury said. “And they might not get it anywhere else.”
And the young people bring so much to a nonprofit, said Jenny Horsley, director of volunteer services at Operation Breakthrough.
Horsley likes the Youth Volunteer Corps because the volunteers are younger than the adults the Operation Breakthrough children mostly interact with during the day.
“I think they connect a little easier,” Horsley said. “They (the volunteers) were there just a year or two ago. They are role models without parental size.”
•TLC for Children and Families Inc. of Olathe received $30,000 to buy client-management software.
•Friends of Yates of Kansas City, Kan., received $9,500 for computers and technology training.
•Synergy Services of Parkville received $9,500 to provide counseling, support and job skill services for victims.
•Rose Brooks Center of Kansas City received $9,000 to help victims of domestic violence.
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