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Last updated on Friday, September 22, 2017
(BLOOMINGTON) - In May, the City of Bloomington Volunteer Network (CBVN) challenged local teens to log 1,000 volunteer hours through its Summer of Service (SOS) program.
Eighty-eight high school students participated in the City's challenge, with an end result of 3,994 service hours between May 30 through August 8.
Sixty-one students reached the individual challenge goal of 20 or more service hours, while eight students logged more than 100 service hours. Collectively, the 88 participants surpassed the City's 1,000 hour challenge by nearly 400 percent for a net volunteer impact of $92,221* for the recieving organizations.
All participating high school students will receive a Summer of Service drink tumbler, and students who logged over 20 hours will be recognized by Mayor John Hamilton and the CBVN with a certificate of service achievement that acknowledges the impact of service in the community.
"We are inspired by the commitment of these young people to make Bloomington a better place," Mayor John Hamilton commented. "It's appropriate to recognize what they accomplished for our community this summer."
A second-year member of the Monroe County Youth Council (MCYC), Wonderlab volunteer, and SOS participant Francie McCormick logged 190 hours - more hours than any other student.
"I hadn't usually recorded my hours, so it was kind of cool to see if we could reach this goal together," said McCormick. "I knew we could. I also like to work with kids, and I think it's really important. That's why I love WonderCamp so much. Plus in the summer, when you don't have much to do, why not spend your time doing something fun that helps your community?"
A collaboration between both MCYC and CBVN, SOS was inspired by MCYC members' request to document and commend high school students for the impact of their service over the summer months.
"I was pleasantly surprised when I realized we'd set our hours-of-service goal too low. These teens are amazing!" said Lucy Schaich, Assistant Director of the CBVN and SOS program coordinator.
To learn more or get involved, visit BloomingtonVolunteerNetwork.org/summerofservice.
*Based on the Independent Sector Value of Volunteer Time of $23.38/hour for Indiana.
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