Damascus students help all year, not just for holidays

Teenagers are often stereotyped as being selfish and material-centered. However, many Damascus High School students actively give back to their community through service projects.

"I was first driven to do community service in order to graduate, and then to get the 260 hour recognition at graduation," senior Kristen Weidner admits. "But I've continued to go beyond that number of hours knowing that other people benefit from my work."

Indeed, many students have gone above and beyond the required hours. Students in Montgomery County are required to perform 60 hours of service in order to graduate. They earn 30 hours through the middle school curriculum, and other hours can be obtained by taking classes such as child development. Hours can also be obtained through volunteer work.

Students who record 260 or more hours receive a special tassel at graduation.

"To do something whole-hearted and unselfishly is to change the world you live in, one step at a time," senior Andrea Langer said. Langer has recorded more than 1,100 student service learning hours. During the holiday season, she helps at a soup kitchen, prepares holiday baskets, and gift wraps presents at the mall with profits going to cancer research.

"Christmas is all about giving," she said. "It feels great to get things, but I feel that giving to others makes it all worth it -- to see how happy someone is to receive an unexpected gift, it brightens my day."

Many Damascus students are actively involved with community service on a frequent basis. Senior Elizabeth Dwyer helps tutor an autistic child. Junior Amit Mistry helps organize Damascus High School's Walk for Kids with cancer. Senior Jen Scritchfield purchases presents for disadvantaged children.

Sophomore Steph Patton participates in the annual Relay for Life, which supports cancer research.

Many students are especially active during the holiday season. Several students from the Leos and Interact community service clubs served dinner at St. Martin's soup kitchen in Gaithersburg one Tuesday earlier this month. The students helped serve about 60 people that evening.

"It made my Christmas season," junior Ashton Mallon said. "It made me feel good to know that I helped someone else out, and that's what Christmas really is about, making others happy. ... I would definitely do it again."

Damascus High School clubs have been instrumental in organizing community service activities. The Leos Club and the National Honor Society joined forces for the fall cleanup of senior citizens' yards.

The Interact Club held a successful canned food drive in November, netting thousands of cans. The Development of Character and Careers club organized a Thanksgiving dinner for senior citizens last month, and Best Buddies held a holiday dinner before winter break.

The Student Government Association held a holiday gift drive in mid-December. Students were asked to donate CDs, clothes, gift cards and other items for abused and neglected teenagers in the Washington area.

"I think the gift drive was good because it allows students an opportunity to make the Christmas season better for people who are less fortunate," junior Pat Boughan said after donating a basketball to the gift drive.

Langer said the holiday season brings out the best in the human spirit.

"People stop thinking about themselves and start thinking about others," she said. It seems the world could use a bit more of that every day.

Brian Stelter is a senior at Damascus High School and editor in chief of The Observer, the school's newspaper. His column appears on a monthly basis in the Damascus edition of The Gazette.