Valley Weekend : KIDS : Youths Can Express Thanks by Giving Time

It’s Thanksgiving. And for young people like Mayra Carrola, of Van Nuys, there are many good ways to express thankfulness this holiday season. They can all be summed up in one word: volunteerism.

Beginning at age 17, Carrola handled phones, computer work, typing, etc. at the Volunteer Center of the San Fernando Valley. “I like helping people, not just getting help from them,” she said, “and volunteering always has me learning something new.”

A graduate of Amelia Earhart Continuing High School, and now 19, Carrola plans to enter Valley College next semester. She hopes eventually “to become a teacher or police officer.” Meanwhile, she volunteers full time at the center, she explained in a no-nonsense manner, “instead of staying home.”

One of her supervisors, April Joy, director of the center’s Teen Outreach Program, expresses herself with equal directness. “We’ve gotten about 70 teens to volunteer 6,000 hours of work in the last two years--kids who decided not to hang out at the parking lot.”

The range of work is wide, with an emphasis on peer tutoring weekdays, Joy said, “with weekends for special projects . . . doing water stops at 10K marathons or being ‘Santa’s Helpers,’ packing food baskets at Christmas.” With a welfare office across the street, the center gets asked to pack many food baskets, she said.

Volunteers have worked in the office at the Mothers Against Drunk Driving office in North Hollywood. On a recent weekend a young crew assisted with the Love Ride, passing out literature for motorcyclists raising money for muscular dystrophy.

A recent book on teen volunteerism, “The Kid’s Guide to Service Projects,” makes the point that “a service project can put you in touch with people you might not otherwise meet and opportunities you might not otherwise have,” said Joy. “Your world will expand and grow in ways you never imagined.”

And age need not be a barrier to such experiences. “A 12-year-old can tutor after hours at an elementary school site,” said Linda Via, San Fernando Valley coordinator for Building Up L.A., a new tutoring project in Pacoima. Launched last month at four schools, Building Up L.A. also gets its volunteers involved in environmental cleanups on weekends. “This is a way for kids to get practical experience, a rounded background, which employers and colleges like to see on applications,” Via pointed out.

DETAILS

* FYI: Teens interested in volunteering for weekday tutoring or weekend projects such as food basket preparation, assisting at charity walks and runs, United Way campaigns, environmental cleanup and other projects should call the Volunteer Center of the San Fernando Valley (818) 908-5066 or the newly opened San Fernando office of Build Up L.A. (818) 896-6301.

* HELP OUT: Valley public school teachers or administrators who want to promote student volunteerism--combining classroom curriculum with a community service program--should phone the Teen Outreach Program (818) 908-5151.

* READ ON: A new paperback, “The Kid’s Guide to Service Projects” by Barbara Lewis, delivers on its promise to provide kids 10 and older more than 500 service ideas--$10.95 at major bookstores or order by phone by calling (800) 753-2323.