Campolindo is full of curious, thoughtful students, passionate about contributing to the common good. Many students pursue meaningful community service and volunteering opportunities that have a simultaneous impact on their personal development and those they help.
Freshmen Aliyah Yang and Kyden Bronson, junior Riya Shah, and senior Caden Busfield are some students who have made time for valuable service work in their busy lives.
Yang has been volunteering for a year at food banks like White Pony Express and writes uplifting cards for the elderly. She said this time “means a lot because it’s a weekly activity I do, around four hours a week, and it’s a really big part of my life, I really enjoy doing it.”
Yang has aspirations to start her own non-profit organization someday after being part of the impactful work that local non-profits do. For students interested in entering the volunteering world, Yang offered some encouragement: “it might sound corny but once you start [volunteering] a lot it just feels nice to do it. Also, the people who you interact with are really nice and understanding.”
Bronson has been volunteering for a couple years. He said, “I’ve just really wanted to help out my community and help out organizations that really need the support without being able to fund workers.” Bronson volunteers at the Lafayette Library and a myriad of community events including the Lafayette Art and Wine Festival. Bronson’s inspiration for his service work comes from values he’s personally developed, and what he’s learned from family and friends.
Since her elementary school years, Shah has found joy and fulfillment in volunteering. Growing up as a minority in Texas led her to experiencing many realities she wanted to change. Shah said volunteering became an exciting avenue for her in the context of feeling like she “didn’t really have a lot of power.” Shah said “I liked volunteering…it made me feel like I was actually making a change and that I was able to exercise my beliefs in a productive way.”
Shah thinks volunteering can be fulfilling for many: “I would say that a lot of people can feel like they can make a difference.” Believing in our efficacy as community members, as we seek social justice reform and other changes, is necessary to maintaining community activity and avoiding cynical stagnation.
Shah’s current volunteering activities are more local. She cleans up the JM and CP gardens, works at food banks, and is part of the Moraga Youth Involvement Committee (representing the youth of Moraga in the Town Council). Shah is also a teaching assistant at her dance studio. She said, “I get to work with kids, which I love, and I also get to teach them dance, which is something that’s really fun for me.”
Volunteer activities like Shah’s and Busfield’s can create uplifting liaisons between communities and community members in a world where headlines continue to escalate and divides deepen. Busfield has been volunteering for four years at food banks, the White Pony Express, the Campolindo Crab Feed, Special Olympics sports events, the Mexico Group Team Trip, and as a Campo peer tutor. He said, “I started volunteering when my grandma offered to volunteer with me at a local food bank, and I have loved it ever since.”
Volunteering and community service can be an exposure to realities disparate from one’s own. Shah said “I feel like it’s kind of luck where some people end up starting in life so I think it’s just really important to even that playing field. I try my best to give others a chance to live life to the fullest and have access to all the wonderful opportunities that I have and that other people have as well.”
