Photograph courtesy of the National Charity League
The 2002 'graduating class' of the Saratoga-Los Gatos chapter of the National Charity League includes (back row) Leslie Hernandez, Lindsey Sherburne, Kimberly Stellman, Jaclyn Corcoran, Tessa Sphar, Anne Richards, Maren Lovgren, Kate Loomis and Claire Koen; (middle row) Carissa Poellot, Tiquette Bramlett, Ashley Whisnant, Rebecca Harstfield, Alexandra Pavlidakis, Jill Copenhagen and Catherine Gold; (front row) Andrea Frangadakis, Rachel O'Gara and Jessica Cone. Not pictured are Alexis Weiner, Heide Cruikshank, Annie Weidert and Annie Morrissey.
Teens, moms work together for charity
Charity League volunteers complete six-year program
By Shari Kaplan
Twenty-three young women from the Saratoga and Los Gatos areas have more to celebrate this spring than just their upcoming graduations from high school. In fact, they've already celebrated an accomplishment that took them even longer to achieve than their high school diploma.
These young women recently completed the six-year program of the Saratoga-Los Gatos chapter of the National Charity League (NCL). Collectively, they have put in more than 3,000 hours of community service volunteering for local nonprofits, including the Emergency Housing Consortium, Special Olympics, Sacred Heart Community Services, American Cancer Society, Our Lady of Fatima Skilled Nursing Facility, VIA Rehabilitation Services, the Southwest YMCA's Physabilities Program and the Nike Animal Rescue Foundation.
What sets the NCL apart from other service organizations is that the girls do all of their volunteer work together with their mothers. And that's not all they do together--attending cultural events like plays, symphonies and museums are also on the bill of fare, as are programs on topics such as life skills, time management, interpersonal communications and social etiquette.
"Sometimes teenage girls want to be miles from their mothers, but this helps build their relationships. In the NCL, there's none of that peer thing, where it's not cool to go places with your mother, because you do all of these things with your mother," Saratogan Linda Sherburne says with a chuckle.
Los Gatan Kate Loomis, who says she never really felt her mother was "uncool," says she is thankful for the door the NCL opened for her into the world of volunteerism, and also for the bonding experience it gave her.
"It was a really great opportunity not only to spend time with my mom, but also to do things to help people or the environment. We've gotten to work together on so many things; it's brought us closer," says Kate, who particularly enjoyed the Eastfield Ming Quong Strawberry Festival and the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.
"I'd probably have done some volunteer work on my own, but if it hadn't been for the NCL, I don't think it would have become such a part of my life," Kate adds.
The organization became part of Sherburne's life when she joined with her older daughter, Lauren, now a college junior. Sherburne has now seen her younger daughter, Lindsey, through the six-year program as well.
"Some of the girls are social butterflies, and some are not. But in this group, they all learn to respect each other's strengths. They can each find something that they really shine in," Sherburne says.
"Lauren says it really prepared her for all the different activities and people she's had contact with in college," she says. "Learning how to mix in a group of people you might not necessarily have chosen to be with is a good experience for girls in the NCL."
Lindsey agrees, having made many new friends in the group. Like Loomis, she also appreciated the volunteerism and the special time with her mother.
"Every year, there are different opportunities, so you get to see what projects you like best," says Lindsey, whose favorite projects included helping mentally challenged athletes at the Special Olympics and preparing and serving food at the Emergency Housing Consortium.
"My mom and I have had chances to do things together that we wouldn't have gotten to do otherwise. It's a different kind of bonding than when you're hanging out at home, or going out to dinner or something."
For more information about the Saratoga-Los Gatos chapter of the National Charity League, call Susan Dunn at 408.395.5416 or visit www.nclslg.org.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
