Kids Easily Form Habit Of Helping

Middle school Principal Cheryll Cochrane wonders why they didn’t do it before.

“These kids eat this up,” she said. “They’re the perfect age.”

Instead of the usual last-day-of-school holiday parties last week, the middle-school students at Sacramento Country Day School scattered to participate in a day of giving.

From a river cleanup project to the serving line at Loaves & Fishes, 145 sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders dived into a variety of community service projects to make the season more meaningful.

Stereotyped as a turbulent, tough age, middle-school students desperately want to feel a part of something, and community service provides that.

“We all remember how tough this age can be,” Cochrane said, “but what they are silently saying every day is, ‘Am I OK?’ This says, ‘Not only are you OK, you are absolutely a part of the program.”’ And not only that: You are so OK you can help others, too.

Kids at Country Day School engage in charitable works regularly, Cochrane said, a philosophy that this private school calls “the habit of helping.” But the school had never dedicated an entire afternoon to several different kinds of community outreach, and the logistical challenges were many.

One group of students and teachers gathered in a portable bungalow to stuff 100 stockings for Christmas Promise, an organization that provides holiday gifts for the neediest of families.

Others boarded a bus to volunteer their services at feeding programs.

Another 20 students walked over to the American River to clear the banks and parkway of trash.

Still others headed for Target, to shop for two families the school had adopted through Christmas Promise.

I wondered how we’d ever find the kids in Target, but there were some of the girls the second we walked in - in the snack bar with pizza and sodas.

“We’re done, Mrs. Cochrane,” they chimed, all smiles.

And the boys?

“Oh, the boys,” student Chrissy Stevens said, rolling her eyes playfully. “They’re having a little trouble.”

Over in toys, we found another group of girls running a coat, a doll, ear muffs and a Barbie under a scanner to figure out whether they were staying within their means.

“It’s been an interesting little budgeting lesson,” teacher Pam Tindall said.

And the boys? Where were those boys?

And then we found them, huddled around a brimming cart in the boys clothing department. Power shopping may not come naturally, but the trio had put a lot of thought into what they selected and what they put back.

“My guy’s 11 years old, so I figured it had to be appropriate clothing, nothing too bright,” said Eliot Kerner, 14. Too bright?

“Usually when you’re older you don’t want to stand out or anything,” he said, speaking with authority. Little kids like bright clothes, he said. Eleven and a boy? No way.

Ramon Rossman, 13, picked out a Buzz Lightyear toy for the boy assigned to him because “7-year-olds like Disney stuff.” His only regret, Ramon said, was not seeing the child’s “eyes light up” when opening Buzz on Christmas morning.

Over at Loaves & Fishes, students Marc Ruggles, Gary Ng and Juan Pablo Galindo were among those on the serving line.

Others packed food bags at the Sacramento Food Bank in Oak Park.

“They did surprisingly well, even though they didn’t want to hold hands at first for prayer,” teased Cathy Matsuvu, a volunteer of three years at Loaves & Fishes. “Their humor was great. They really interacted well with the guests.”

The kids who went to the river found a lot of trash, especially potato chip bags and candy wrappers, according to student Lizette Avalos, 12. It was “kind of disgusting,” she said, but also fun knowing they were doing something helpful. “It wasn’t so bad. We sang Christmas songs to make it fun.”

The groups returned to the campus just as school let out with a glow on their faces that even a post-party sugar high couldn’t have provided.

It’s impossible not to be touched when you reach out to others. In fact, Ramon Rossman will cross my mind at least once Christmas morning. You know he’ll think of the 7-year-old and Buzz at least once that day. And the day will be more meaningful for him because of it.

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The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Diana Griego Erwin McClatchy News Service