Limestone Organization of Volunteer Efforts

Vital Stats

Noora S

Harvest, AL

  • people helped600
  • People Doing It142

The Problem

I co-founded a service club at our high school in Athens, Alabama called the Limestone Organization of Volunteer Efforts, also known as L.O.V.E. It is a non-profit organization that began in 2009 with 75 members. It is dedicated to our community and to those less fortunate than ourselves. It consists of continual volunteer positions and community service opportunities. Not only does this organization assist those in need, provide leadership skills to members, and improve our society, but it also gives students the opportunity to gain volunteer credit and experience. This year, we have expanded to 142 active members. Our club has been extremely supported by our community. I became involved in this activity when I co-founded the organization with my friend, Leah Turner, in January of 2009. Leah and I were involved in every service club our school had to offer, which included the Senior Beta Club, the Student Council, the Spanish Club, etc. These clubs were not offering any community service opportunities, and we wanted to get involved in our community. After we gave the officers of these clubs our volunteer ideas, they were still unwilling to begin any service projects. Therefore, we created our own community service organization that anyone could participate in by typing applications, discussing our club with the school principal, choosing a sponsor, and planning the date of our first meeting. Since our founding, I have taken responsibility of a majority of club proceedings. My roles in our club are co-founder, leader of meetings, writer of monthly newsletters, and head of the L.O.V.E. Planning Committee for the club. When we first began the club, seventy-five students were automatically interested and filled out applications. Leah and I did not realize how much dedication and work would go into our organization. We decided that we definitely needed assistance, so I created a Planning Committee. We made applications and teacher recommendation forms that were due in a short amount of time. We chose the eight most qualified individuals based on recommendations and the short answer responses on their applications. These eight individuals were each assigned a responsibility. Among these were sending out mass emails with necessary club information, sending out mass text messages of upcoming events, advertising with posters and morning school announcements, keeping member hours updated and recorded, assisting me in creating the monthly newsletter, and other various tasks. If anyone does not fulfill his or her responsibility, another qualified member will obtain the position. The Planning Committee and I work hours upon hours to make sure every detail of every event is correct. We all attend every event that we possibly can. We work too hard to allow a student to join our organization merely for the purpose of adding another club to their college resume. To prevent this fraud, we require members to attend at least one event per month.

Plan of Action

L.O.V.E. Accomplishments • April 2009 Food Bank Drive. Donated 2,033 cans to Limestone County Churches Involved. The food was distributed among all the needy, unemployed citizens of our community. • April 2009 Easter Cards. The members of our club created approximately fifty Easter cards and distributed them among the fifty occupants of the Madison Manor nursing home. Students were exposed to the elderly. The students understood the value of life and the importance of visiting those in nursing homes. • April 2009 Earth Day Walk. Members of L.O.V.E. walked 2.5 miles down the road our school is located on and gathered thirty bags of trash over a five hour time frame in order to make our community and Earth clean. Students understood the importance of not littering. • For September 11th, I made a short speech at the beginning of the Hartselle football game and organized to have the school’s marching band perform as a memorial for those killed in the attacks of 2001. Allison Patterson, an active member of the Planning Committee, organized a hat drive at the high school to raise $255 for our very own East Limestone Volunteer Fire Department. We framed a picture of all the L.O.V.E. members with “We love our volunteers!” written across the bottom. • September 2009 Supplies Drive. L.O.V.E. partnered with Staples to gather supplies for students in our community who do not have enough money for school supplies. We donated 134 items, and our members spent approximately $450 for the children in our community. • September 2009 Jessica Elkin’s Tea Party. The Tea Party was hosted by the Boys and Girls Club in Athens. The purpose of the party was to raise money for the Jessica Elkin’s Scholarship and awareness of Meningitis. Jessica Elkins was a young high school girl who unexpectedly died from Meningitis. Her family has dedicated themselves to raising awareness of meningitis. Members of our club worked really hard to get all of the supplies together to decorate three tables in order to represent our club and assist in the effort to raise awareness for Meningitis. The actual tea party was a blast! We dressed in fancy clothes, had tuna salad, discussed Meningitis, and decorated cookies. All the members learned about the disease and the importance of life. • October 2009 Dog Biscuits for the Humane Society. October is World Animal Month. L.O.V.E. members enjoyed baking approximately 150 home-made dog biscuits for the non-profit Humane Society. • October 2009 Animal Humane Society Drive. Members bring in items that we donated to the National Humane Society. • November 2009 Leukemia and Lymphoma Donations. Members made donations for blood cancer victims. Leukemia and Lymphoma are the most common among our age group. • November 2009 Huntsville Downtown Rescue Mission. Members served food to the less fortunate of our community. We also toured the facilities of the former Westminster Christian Academy, a religious high school. • November 2009 Madison Manor. Members created and delivered handmade Thanksgiving cards for the elderly of the Madison Manor nursing home. • November 2009 Canned Food Drive. L.O.V.E. members donated 6,368 canned goods in time for Thanksgiving. These cans were delivered to the Limestone County Churches Involved, our local food bank. We wanted to make sure that everyone in our community would have a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. • December 2009 Holiday Community Drives. Members donated toys for the children at the Huntsville Downtown Rescue Mission, jackets for the Burlington Coat Factory coat drive for the homeless, and blankets which local churches donated to needy families. • December 2009 Volunteer at Peace, Love, and Animals. Members met at this animal shelter where they walked dogs, cleaned our kennels, and played with puppies. This particular shelter rescues dogs from the local pound which are going to be put down. Members understood the reward of a hard day’s work and the importance of caring for the creatures of the world. • January 2010 Repeat Previous Trips. Members wished to return to the Downtown Rescue Mission, Peace, Love, and Animals Shelter, and Madison Manor. We served food at the rescue mission, cared for dogs and puppies at the animal shelter, and played bingo with residents at the nursing home. • February 2010 Madison Public Library. Members organized books for the library in preparation for a book sale. We had approximately twenty members organizing over 5,000 books in two hours. After the books were organized, we still had enough energy to help the librarians clean and reorganize the sale area. • March 2010 Change For Haiti Drive. Members donated empty water jugs in order to collect change from classrooms for the Haiti relief effort. Many residents of Haiti suffered after the huge earthquake. Lives were lost and homes were demolished. The club wanted to aide in the relief effort as much as we could. Over the month, L.O.V.E. members collected $140 for the American Red Cross. • March 2010 Soles for Souls. In addition to donating money, Members donated lightly used shoes towards the Haiti relief effort. All donated shoes were sent to the needy people of devastated Haiti. Future Events: • April 2010 5K Runs. Member have the choice to attend one of the two 5K Walk/Run events in April. One of the walks is for meningitis awareness; the other walk is for the Big Brothers Big Sisters Club. All money donated goes towards efforts in our community. • April 2010 Habitat for Humanity. Members volunteer to help build a house for our community. • April 2010 Annual Earth Day Walk. Members improve our ecosystem and community by picking up litter off the road that our school is located on. Last year, we collected over 30 bags of garbage. This year, we need as many volunteers as possible! • May 2010 Car Washes. As the school year comes to an end, volunteers help raise money to fund our organization. Our car washes are a fun way for members to intermingle. The money we raise goes towards all of the supplies needed to fund events during the school year. • May 2010 Memorial Day. Members help our local veteran organizations in soliciting support by placing an American flag next to each veteran’s grave in Limestone County.
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Education
Environment
Homelessness and Poverty

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