Lazy, selfish and ignorant—though this hard-to-shake-off stereotype placed on teenagers by society does apply to some part of the teenage population, it’s unfair to the significant number of driven students who are actively involved in improving their communities.

I see examples of these motivated teenagers year-round at Plainwell High School. There are so many projects and student organizations aimed at bettering the world that it’s confusing to try to keep track of them all, and it’s doubtful there’s a single Plainwell student or staff member who can’t enumerate a long list of student-driven service projects—winter clothing drives, food drives, charity dinners, blood drives, bake sales—easily at a moment’s notice.

This week alone there were student volunteers raising money for National-Honor-Society-sponsored charities by selling Crush pops at lunch, raising money for Red Cross Club by selling water bottles and collecting BoxTops for a school-wide drive.

Students volunteer to advertise and work these charitable projects year after year, some driven by the need to fulfill the 40-hour community service graduation requirement, and some by the genuine wish of making a difference and offering help where it’s needed. They devote time and energy, often without reward or recognition, to helping others, and for that teenagers deserve more credit than society gives them.