“Being good is commendable, but only when it is combined with doing good is it useful.” -Author Unknown

There are so many members of the Roosevelt family, both faculty and students, doing great things within and beyond our school’s walls. Whether it is service, or a random act of kindness, going unnoticed. I decided to use this column to recognize a club, organization, student, teacher, faculty member, or anyone who just did something great.

This month I want to recognize Kayse Schmucker. She is a sophomore in the Expedition Academy, and a member of the varsity women’s volleyball team. In addition to these she does an wide-ranging amount of service work outside of our school’s walls. She volunteers at Hattie Larlham, which provides services to children and adults with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. Her mom teaches karate classes which she volunteers and helps out with. She has also helped with a Camp for handicapped teens at Hattie Larlham. She has worked at soup kitchens, along with several other service projects through her church, the Kent Newman Center. The Newman Center organizes many service projects throughout the year which she gets involved in. She has participated in the CROP Walk in the past, which raises money for international relief and development, as well as local hunger-fighting. A lot of the service she does is with her mom and organized through her church.

“My family simply volunteers everytime an opportunity arises.” she said.

“I’ve been involved in these service activities since I was able to understand the importance of it. I’ve gotten really involved in the last five years.”

Kayse’s favorite place to volunteer is at the soup kitchen, particularly after the 30 Hour Famine.

“It makes you realize what you have and how lucky we are. It’s also really fun to see how happy people get when people help them.” Schmucker said, “It’s important [to be involved in service] because it’s our responsibility to help other people in our community because we would want someone to do the same for us [if we were] in that situation.”

Great job, Kayse! You’re doing incredible work, and making a difference in numerous lives. Way to go, Champ.