Middle school is busy. It’s a time of hustle and bustle, learning tons of new things, getting new responsibilities and making new friends. As adults, we forget how much young students have on their plates. However, these Tri-Village kids are not too busy to share their time with the community.
Vinny Barsotti, now in sixth grade, was just a fourth-grader when he first volunteered at Heart to Heart Food Pantry at First Community Church with his classmates. As a group, they had all decided they’d like to get out into the community and help.
One visit to the pantry became two, then three, then their volunteering became a monthly event.
“The main thing we do is unload food from the truck,” Barsotti says. “The most we’ve done is around 20,000 pounds of food.”
The kids work together, stocking pantries and forming assembly lines to make the work move quickly and easily.
“The first time I volunteered I was a little nervous, because it was going to be a bunch of people I’d never met before,” Barsotti says. “It ended up being really fun in the end because I got to carry a bunch of things while talking with my friends. It all went by so fast.”
His mom, Marisa, was encouraged by her son to get involved and now volunteers regularly by teaching cooking classes at Heart to Heart.
“It’s a place that has a good vibe,” Barsotti says. “When you go there you feel accepted, no matter who you are.”
The rate of volunteering in young people is declining in the U.S., leading some people to believe that kids aren’t motivated to help out.
“You don’t need a reason to do it,” Barsotti says. “You just want to make people happy.”
Even at a young age, he has a mature view on what’s truly important in life. Barsotti notes that there are many little things in life people take for granted, such as toothbrushes or paper towels. Families who come to Heart to Heart are so grateful to have toiletries that others might not even think about.
“We just go to the store and buy food, but some people can’t do that,” he says. “Seeing the people in need and helping them, it’s a good way to get a feel for working in the community and meeting people as well.”
“I think that people should know volunteering is really fun and feels really good when you’re done.” - Elias Larson
Last year, Barsotti’s family adopted a family through Heart to Heart and made a wonderful Christmas wish come true. They had an extra bike that wasn’t being used, so they passed it on to someone who needed it.
“It was one of the greatest feelings,” he says.
Another student, Elias Larson, also started volunteering at Heart to Heart in fourth grade.
“At first I didn’t know what to expect,” he says. “There’s never been a time when I didn’t like volunteering there – I even went to help when I had a cast on my arm.”
Like Barsotti, Larson helps stock and organize donated supplies. He loves talking to other volunteers and says they also show tons of appreciation. Kids being surrounded by people with such positive attitudes about helping others affects how they view volunteering. Laron has an amazingly mature outlook on helping out.
“People go hungry around the world. So, just unloading a couple things and helping out can make a huge difference.”
Giving back can seem like a challenge for adults, especially as the holidays roll around, but seeing it from a child’s perspective certainly underscores the simplicity and importance of doing good in the community.
“I think that people should know volunteering is really fun and feels really good when you’re done,” Larson says.
Both students have infectiously positive attitudes, giving us a little pep in our step when thinking about all the giving back we can do during the holiday season. Upon asking Barsotti what he plans on doing with such an impressive personality when he grows up, his response makes us laugh.
“I’m in sixth grade,” he says. “I am just going to see where life takes me.”
It’s safe to say, these students will make their community a better place to live.
Mallory Arnold is an associate editor. Feedback welcome at marnold@cityscenemediagroup.com.
