On the Value of Volunteers

Between meetings at the Christian Brothers’ Provincial Headquarters in Napa and Alumni gatherings in Northern California, Portland and Seattle, I spend a fair amount of time flying Southwest Airlines. So, it shouldn’t have been a surprise (it was) to read in their in-flight magazine that April is National Volunteer Month. I knew, for example, that February is National Black History Month and March is National Women’s History Month. I even knew that National Hispanic Heritage Month was - oddly -situated between two months (September and October) in order to commemorate eight Latin and Central American countries who declared independence in the last two weeks of September. But - and this is the point - for someone who has spent over thirty years in Catholic education - and, therefore, heavily reliant upon the enthusiasm of volunteers - I did not know that April is National Volunteer Month. Nor did I know that it began as National Volunteer Week with a declaration by President Nixon in 1974.

As a member of the Baby Boom Generation, I can safely assert that we did not grow up in a world that promoted altruistic volunteerism. Political and Church-based volunteerism was the norm for anyone whose adolescent years traversed the Sixties and Seventies. Even as a young teacher in the Seventies and Eighties, I did not observe a societal emphasis on community service - other than that required by most Catholic high schools in order for students to be eligible for graduation. The last twenty years, however, have witnessed a spectacular growth in altruistic volunteerism. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 64 million people volunteered at least once between September 2010 and September 2011; and that doesn’t include teenagers who must volunteer as part of a school-based community service requirement. Since 1989, the number of adults who volunteer has increased by 60 percent.

It’s anybody’s guess as to what explains this phenomenon. I’d like to think that the increasingly toxic political conversations taking place at the macro level in the public square has, in some measure, motivated individuals to try to make a difference at the micro level of their local community. Certainly, we see that here at La Salle. The School couldn’t function if it weren’t for the thousands of hours put in by parents to ensure that a bewildering array of events on and off campus is successfully launched. By the time you read this, the Crystal Ball will have come and gone; its success completely dependent upon the legion of volunteers, headed by Tess Crabtree, P ’12, ‘14 who spent the last 12 months making sure that every “T” was crossed and “I” dotted. PALS (Parents at La Salle) ensure that parents of incoming students have an experienced parent who is available to address their concerns and provide guidance and access to school administrators who can answer their questions. Unique among Catholic high schools, La Salle not only has a formal Parent Association, but four parent booster groups (Academics, Arts, Athletics, Student Life) as well. Student Life elections also took place recently. A record number of students stood for election, including Sophomore, Jamie Kwong, who sought the Commissioner of Service position. It occurs to me that something special is happening in a school where Sophomores are inspired to run for an office that promotes community service as a normative part of the student experience. Perhaps the most relevant example of how embedded service is in the culture of La Salle is that every student is expected to do service; but isn’t expected to count a minimum number of hours in pursuit of that expectation. This dynamic is effectively captured by two slogans that regularly pop up in the day-to-day lived experience of La Salle:

Enter to Learn - Leave to Serve

Learn - Serve - Lead

I am fond of asserting in this space, and elsewhere, that our Mission can be summarized rather succinctly in this way:

La Salle produces good students and good people

Now that I am aware of the fact that April is National Volunteer Month, I plan on becoming more forthcoming in my gratitude to parents, administrators, teachers and students who embrace service as an essential component of their lived experience of what I like to call The La Salle Difference.