All throughout the State High community there are many students and staff who volunteer around the community when they are not at school. There are many places around State College where students can volunteer, like school sporting events, animal shelters, food banks, school clubs and many more.
There are many positions that have opened for school coaches for students or staff. Junior Izzy Dubler has stepped into a position and volunteers for the school wrestling team. Outside of school programs, Dubler volunteers for another wrestling program and a field hockey program.
“I’ve been coaching for the last three years, both field hockey and wrestling, and I feel like it’s helped me expand my horizon as both an athlete and a coach. It lets me see both sides like being an athlete, like, on the mat or on the field performing, but also the stress of it and making sure that your athlete performs the best to their ability,” Dubler said.
The most valuable part of the coaching experience for Dubler is helping others grow.
“I love expanding other people’s horizons, and I like bringing people to the sport of girls wrestling because it’s not a big sport or well known sport in State College,” Dubler said.
Besides volunteering for the school’s wrestling team, Dubler also volunteers for Mini-THON.
“We do something called a car wash where people take time out of their day and get together and raise money for kids with cancer by washing cars and standing on the side of the road trying to collect money by passing cars and just spreading awareness,” Dubler said.
Out of all volunteer work for Dubler, whether it’s coaching or Mini-THON, the most important part for her is giving back to the community.
“I feel like I’m giving back to the community, especially not getting paid for it. I feel like when I volunteer, I do my part and use my ability to its fullest,” Dubler said.
Another volunteer opportunity is working at a church with the younger kids. Junior Alyya Stevens helps out at Calvary Church.
“I work for Calvary Kids, which is like the Sunday school group. So some days I’ll be with the kindergartners, and then most days I’m either with the preschoolers or I’m in the infant room,” Stevens said.
Calvary Church is a very special and important place for Stevens since she has grown up there most of her life and was part of their programs as a kid.
“All my life, I’ve kind of grown up in that area. The Calvary kids and the Sunday school back in the exact same church. So it’s like, kind of just like going from doing it as a kid and not knowing all the behind the scenes and then doing all the behind the scenes for the kids,” she said.
“I think being like the adult in the room is pretty cool because I know when I was a kid, I always really loved going there. So it’s like getting to be that upper person that people look up to when they’re back there,” Stevens added.
There are so many volunteering opportunities around State College that some people may not have even been aware of. Volunteering is an amazing thing to do and helps out so many people, animals and communities. Consider checking out the Volunteer Information page on the SCASD website for more information to find what opportunities fit you best.
