Turning over a new leaf in Catlin volunteering
By Maddie Snyder ‘26
Derek and Rick’s C&C at the Children's Healing Art project.
Courtesy of Derek Kanerek
After, and even before the COVID-19 pandemic, volunteering at the Catlin Gabel School (CGS) hit a lull. This year, CGS has made a renewed commitment through initiatives like Community Engagement Day (CE Day) to increase its level of volunteerism.
Various aspects of CGS changed after the COVID-19 pandemic put in-person learning at CGS and across the country on hiatus. One of the most prominent of those aspects affected was volunteering. CGS English teacher of 27 years Ginia King said that before COVID-19, community engagement was “just kind of like baked into the social life of the school”.
King also recalled how CGS used to have required volunteer hours, which went away before the pandemic even started due to concerns about community engagement becoming an obligation instead of an opportunity.
This year, Cristy Vo, in her new position as community engagement coordinator, has been committed to bringing back that culture of community engagement without making it an obligation. Vo said that her goal is to “see CE grow into something even more student-driven, with long-term partnerships that allow students to return to the same sites and see their impact over time.”
A goal Vo has hoped to accomplish by expanding partnerships with nonprofits focused on food justice, environmental work, and youth mentorship and supporting student-led initiatives. The majority of those initiatives come out of the Student Community Engagement Team, something new to CGS this year.
The CE Student Ambassador Team is a group of approximately 15 students that discusses community engagement in the school and what they can do to bolster it and make it run better. They have sat in on CGSA meetings and worked with the administration to make connections to OES’ volunteering and create joint events.
They also helped shape CE Day, an initiative many CGS students will remember well, when an entire day was dedicated to students volunteering around Portland. Students decided with their C&Cs where they would spend their time in the weeks leading up to March 3.
Many C&Cs partnered with different organizations to complete their volunteer work. One C&C worked with HOPE, an organization that helps the elderly with yard work to clean up an older woman’s yard. Derek Kanereks and Rick White’s C&C traveled down to Lincoln Center to work with the Children's Healing Art Project, an organization that creates and provides art activities for children in hospitals.
Melissa and Derek’s C&C volunteered with City Team, an organization that works with the homeless population in Oregon. They partnered with Kathy and Alexis C&C to give blankets and health kits to people on the streets, particularly under bridges. Many C&Cs also combined to work at the Oregon Food Bank.
However, not everyone sought out opportunities off campus. Elizabeth and Marguerite's C&C paired with Mia and Mark’s C&C to clean and organize the Cabell Center. They helped organize props and costumes to tidy up the space.
“The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” Vo remarked on the response from the CGS community on CE day. Not only have many faculty have expressed appreciation for the experience while also offering feedback for the future, but Vo also said that students enjoyed the opportunity. A sentiment echoed by the students themselves.
One student remarked that “it was a really fun activity and a great way to do community engagement while bonding” with her C&C. Others enjoyed how they felt like they could feel a tangible impact. One respondent to a survey sent out to students who worked at the food bank said that they felt like they actually helped people in need.
They also described how the experience was meaningful to them, stating, “The quantity of the food I packed helped give me perspective as to how many people there are that deal with food insecurity.”
Overall, students recommended that CE Day should continue as an event next year. The main reason is that it provides a time for students to do volunteering when they might not otherwise. “I wouldn't normally do CE in my free time, so CE days give me time to do that,” one student stated.
Although the work with CGS volunteering is far from done, with initiatives like CE Day and the student ambassador team, major efforts have been made to bring it out of the rut COVID-19 created. Vo hopes that in the coming years, she would “love to find more thoughtful ways to celebrate all the amazing things students are doing on and off campus.” Vo explained that many students are volunteering their time, but aren’t often acknowledged for it.
Vo’s dedication to both furthering and celebrating CE at CGS stems from her belief that volunteering keeps our education grounded in the real world. “Community engagement teaches empathy, collaboration, and the importance of showing up for others,” she said. These are all things Vo describes as “essential skills for life.”