WooServes brings teens out of the house and into the fields

WORCESTER – Muddy knees, dirty hands and hard work are nothing for a group of Worcester-area teenagers who are spending their time getting down and dirty to help their community. WooServes is a program run by the United Way of Central Massachusetts, which pairs teenagers with volunteer opportunities over the summer. On Wednesday, July 8, a group of teens was working at Community Harvest Project in Grafton, planting carrots in the field of the nonprofit farm that grows food to help fight local food insecurity." We have 87 volunteers enrolled in the program this year, between the ages of 13 and 18, and the best part is that about half of them are returning to the program," Idaliana Medina, director of community engagement for the United Way of Central Massachusetts, said.

Throughout the summer, the volunteers spend their time helping out across Worcester County, doing everything from working blood drives run by the Worcester police and fire departments to handing out food at the El Buen Samaritano Food Program on Piedmont Street.

Isaiah Jacques, a rising senior at South High Community School, became involved in the group through his older sister, Juanita, and in turn he has enlisted his younger sister, Luciana, a rising sophomore at South High, to participate each summer.

"Doing this you get a strong sense of the Greater Worcester community. I've encouraged a lot of my friends from South High to help out," Isaiah Jacques said. "We share similar interests and care about similar things. I know everyone I see out here today; I can have a conversation about volunteering and I know that we value the same things."

Part of the work at Community Harvest Project involves harvesting produce that has been grown earlier in the season. On Friday, July 10, the same volunteers will help distribute that food to families as part of the El Buen Samaritano Food Program.

"It's really beautiful to see all the nonprofits working together, and WooServes is able to unite them to provide youth volunteers," Isaiah Jacques said.

Isaiah and Luciana Jaques are high school ambassadors for WooServes, and as such they have encouraged their friends to begin volunteering with the program.

"Lucy is my good friend at school and they run a club at South High that gives volunteer opportunities to students, and this was something that was introduced to us," Damian Zash, a rising sophomore at South High, said. "The different opportunities have different benefits that make this rewarding. Right now we might not see all the people that we are helping, but at the end of the day they will tell us how many servings we have provided, and it will be for thousands of people, and it feels very fulfilling."

The experience helping out a wide variety of people in the community has an impact on the students who volunteer, with several saying it will influence them in choosing a career.

"I definitely think that by working through WooServes and working in service, especially working with kids through Worcester United Lacrosse, African Community Education and Girls Inc. We are seeing a lot of kids and gaining skills in that area," Luciana Jaques said.

Dave Johnson, manager of farm operations at Community Harvest Project, said working with volunteers, especially youth volunteers like through WooServes, is critical to maintaining the efficiency that the farm needs to operate.

"We are growing two types of crops here, the ones that are in the ground and the people that work here," Johnson said, noting that the farm's operations in Grafton and Harvard use about 5,000 to 8,000 volunteer shifts per year. "We love bringing in people and having them start as a group, and eventually we'll have ones who keep coming back and even working here full time."

Medina said WooServes begins by going through applications in March, and that it tries to accommodate as many kids as it can. Fostering an early appreciation for volunteering is the goal of the program, along with connecting youth with the people in their community.

"We always have such great experiences with all of the kids. I really enjoy it at the end of the summer, when we have our graduation, we will have students get up and say that they started this because their mom made them sign up for something, but by the end of the season they love the experience," Medina said.

BY: Jesse Collings Worcester Telegram & Gazette