Two words come immediately to mind for teen Ellie Winship when asked about the recent week she spent volunteering at a pair of Lower Mainland non-profits: inspirational and understanding.
The White Rock Christian Academy student said she is seeing the world through new eyes, courtesy of her time at Fraser Valley Gleaners Society, an organization that converts "surplus and non-marketable vegetables" into a dehydrated soup mix that helps feed the hungry worldwide.
"I'm definitely, thanks to Gleaners, looking at food a lot differently," the 15-year-old said.
"I'm walking into the grocery store now – ugh, we have so much food and most of it goes to waste. So it's just nice to see all these people are coming out to take this food that we've thrown away and make it so others are able to use it."
Students gaining such perspective was exactly what school officials were hoping would come from WRCA's first Service Week.
Winship was among some 100 senior students who pitched in at, all told, more than 25 sites – including food banks, community kitchens, animal-welfare organizations, senior-care services and newcomer support programs – for Service Week, held March 10-14.
The initiative was developed following a recent leadership review of the school's four core programs that determined service had "the most room for growth."
Senior teacher and biblical foundations co-ordinator Laura Lee was tasked to co-ordinate that growth, and Service Week in particular, with a focus on both engagement with, and service in, the community.
Lee said in the past, a significant part of the school's service has been travelling internationally to complete projects aimed at bettering life for those who call the impoverished destinations home.
While undertaken with the best of intentions, some of the approaches to those visits and projects were "outdated… colonial," Lee said.
Central to them now is acknowledgment of the powerful learning to be gained from those with boots on the ground; people "who are already bringing about a positive transformation" in those destinations.
"We're not going as the experts, thinking that we're going to fix a problem with our own Western knowledge… that mentality of, we're going to save, we're going to 'help,'" Lee said.
"We've revamped our whole approach… because we recognize that it's our students who are most transformed through these opportunities."
This year, students travelled to Uganda and Mazatlan.
Service Week, said Lee, was the "cohesive local piece."
Participating organizations in and around the Semiahmoo Peninsula included Urban Safari Rescue Society, Semiahmoo House Society and Cloverdale Community Kitchen – even some within walking distance of the 2265 152 St. school.
Lee and Bible teacher Mike Burge – who helped prepare students for the week, so that they could get the most out of it – said the goal was for students to experience "a week in the life" of those who work or volunteer at the local organizations; not just learn about what the organization does, but also really get to know the people they were serving beside.
Midway through, one student told Lee that the coolest person they'd met was a retiree who'd been volunteering for 39 years at the Langley food bank.
Another was visibly moved by the heartwrenching realities a community kitchen deals with: including, that the help they are able to provide barely scratches the surface of what's needed, and, that giving more would mean others would have to go without.
"She said that she was really learning that these organizations, they can't give everything to everyone, and that that's hard," Lee said. "The realities of wanting to give and the realities that there's so much need, and what that looks like on a practical basis."
Over the course of the week, Burge visited many of the students at their assigned sites to check in. He said at a shelter in Whalley, three students expressed surprise at how happy some of those who accessed the service were, despite being unhoused. The boys were also amazed by the degree of care shown by volunteers in their interactions with those seeking help – and, how all of it could be happening not far from their own homes.
Elsewhere, a student in Cloverdale struggled to process how many people were not grateful for the support offered by the organization.
Cloverdale Community Kitchen volunteer services manager Ryan Fisher said the students saw "how so many people are in need and how, unknown to most, people in need could be their neighbour, their friend, or even themselves one day and how it's an immense privilege to be able to serve those in need by not just giving them food but also respect and dignity."
Noting the students were a blessing and "real boost of energy to our volunteers," Fisher said the opportunity to partner with WRCA for the initiative was a "no-brainer."
"Students are the next generation of volunteers. Our communities will come to depend on them in the not-too-distant future and we see it as a privilege and responsibility to teach and provide opportunities for teenagers to take part in giving back to their community," Fisher said by email.
He noted CCK's participation was not just to gain extra hands for a few days.
"We did it because we knew the challenge of teaching them would help grow them and hopefully grow awareness of how many people are in need and how much help is needed to serve them."
Officials with UNITI – a partnership that includes Semiahmoo House Society – said young volunteers "contribute to growing a culture that values inclusion and equity so people with disabilities can lead self-directed lives in their communities."
"Not only do they learn about the disability movement and the lives of people with disabilities, but they provide a sense of connection for many people UNITI supports and bring enthusiasm, creativity and new opportunities," said program co-ordinator Sarah Clemas.
Other important learnings for the WRCA students included that making a difference doesn't necessarily mean being front-and-centre; that oftentimes, it's the behind-the-scenes pieces – such as sorting clothing donations or organizing a pantry – that enable organizations to do what they do.
Often, "those amazing moments come through the mundane," said Burge.
The students also got a sense of the mental and physical strength contributed by those who volunteer daily at such organizations. Burge said such individuals put in "hours and hours" building trust with the people they help, ultimately creating the opportunities that the students benefited from.
Burge said one of the positives for himself was hearing from some students of an interest to continue volunteering, or that they were looking forward to next year's Service Week.
Lee said a central hope of Service Week was to connect students with strong community leaders, and make service "part of the culture of the school."
"A big part of our expression of our faith is that we are bringing a positive impact to our community," she said.
Noting that often the most learning comes through some form of difficulty or challenge, Lee said if Service Week shifted the perspective of even one student, it was worth doing.
