Community service front and center at NBHS
NEW BEDFORD — Asking what New Bedford High School can do for the city, it officially launched the Michael E. Longo Community Service Pilot Program to a group of about 800 ninth-graders at an assembly in late February.
The program, proposed last year by Mayor Scott W. Lang and approved as a pilot project by the School Committee last fall, was developed through a collaboration among the high school's Office of the Dean of Students, CS² — Communities and Schools for Success, and United Way.
Organizers said it is designed to engage city youths in community service by making 20 hours of volunteerism a goal for NBHS students throughout their high school years.
This year's freshman class is the first to participate in the program.
"You are paving the way for other classes behind you," NBHS Headmaster Donald Vasconcelles said in his address to the students. "I know you'll do a good job."
Vasconcelles also said that many NBHS students already do some sort of volunteer work through participation in a variety of clubs and elective courses that have a community service component.
As part of the assembly, United Way presented information about Volunteer Solutions, a free online volunteer matching database that connects volunteers with nonprofit organizations that need support.
Training on the Volunteer Solutions Web site will be provided by the dean's office, CS² and United Way to freshmen over the next several weeks.
"We are grateful to have United Way come into the school and help us carry out this program," NBHS Dean Carrie Cetenich said. "United Way, through its Volunteer Solutions Web site, offers our students many opportunities to complete their 20 hours
of service."
"We're very pleased to assist these students with their community service endeavors," said Michelle Neves Hantman, United Way president. "The site currently houses over 150 quality volunteer opportunities that students can browse to find the one that's right for them. There is something out there for everyone."
This project is supported in part by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Massachusetts Service Alliance, Learn and Serve America and the New Bedford's CS² — Communities and Schools Education Initiative.
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