200 in Q-C spend a day of caring

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By Stephanie De Pasquale | Saturday, January 27, 2007 1:06 AM CST | () comments

(Larry Fisher/QUAD-CITY TIMES) Elizabeth Fry, 14, a freshman at Bettendorf High, plays with toddlers at Hand in Hand, Bettendorf, during Youth Day of Caring. About 200 students helped out at about 20 organizations Thursday to learn about community involvement.

Alex Monard spent Thursday morning making blankets for children to use during nap time at a Skip-A-Long child-care center.

The junior at Bettendorf High School was one of 200 area students who helped launch the 2007 Student Campaign, sponsored by United Way of the Quad-Cities Area, by celebrating a Youth Day of Caring and volunteering at about 20 organizations.

“I’m very excited about hanging out with the kids,” she said. “I think it’s important for us to get out into the community.”

The campaign was inspired by the results of a survey of 8,000 students in Scott and Rock Island counties conducted in 2005. The survey showed 23 percent felt they were valued by the community and 28 percent considered themselves a resource to the community.

“We have a lot of work to do,” said Margaret Lewis, vice president of resource development and major gifts at United Way. “We hope to expose them to the community so they know that they’re valued.”

Lewis accompanied the group of students from Bettendorf High School to Skip-A-Long Child Development Service’s Rock Island Campus.

Alex, who serves as vice president-elect of Student Council at her school, said the council organizes service activities for students, but the events are not well attended. She hopes the 2007 Student Campaign will help change the way students feel about their ability to make a difference.

“Hopefully through the United Way and this cool program, we’ll be able to get more students involved,” she said.

Staff members at the organizations where the students volunteered Thursday know how much of a difference they make.

Jeannie Stone, activities aide at Davenport Good Samaritan, said the visit by nine junior high students from Solutions, a leadership program at the Scott County YMCA, were the highlight of the residents’ day.

“They have thoroughly enjoyed this,” Stone said. “All you have to do is look around the room and see all the smiles; they’ll be talking about this for days.”

The survey also ranked the youths on 40 different assets like family support, motivation to succeed academically and reading for pleasure. The average for Scott and Rock Island counties was 19, which is one point higher than the national average, but 12 points lower than the ideal.

Scott Caldwell, director of Success by Six at United Way, said a student who scores 31 is much less likely to engage in risky behavior like drug use or sexual activity.

The goal of the United Way is to raise the average of the Quad-City area scores to 21 within the next two years through exposing young people to service projects and giving them recognition for their work in the community.

“We want to be a community that is better than average or a little bit above average,” Caldwell said. “A young person with 21 assets is probably going to do OK; it doesn’t mean they won’t have the opportunity to succeed.”

In addition to getting young people involved in service around the Quad-Cities, United Way also has created a focus team of community partners, a youth council and will have students help with the 2007 Student Campaign fundraiser.

The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2245 or newsroom@qctimes.com.