THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 16, 1995 TAG: 9502140131
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
IN HIS STATE of the Union address last month, President Clinton lamented that citizens are ``working together less and shouting at each other more.'' He called for a new ``social compact,'' whereby citizens renew the bonds of community and work together for the common good.
That's the goal of civic club leaders, school administrators and students in Norfolk.
To rekindle a spirit of volunteerism among teenagers, civic club and school officials are looking for ways to increase student participation in community activities. Principals and representatives of the Optimists, Lions, Kiwanis and Civitans met in January to discuss ideas.
The civic club leaders say their purpose is to help teenagers build a foundation to achieve success.
``We have a broad range of programs to challenge youth,'' said Don Beaman, president of Norfolk's Ghent Optimist Club. ``We help them develop leadership skills, and we teach them to raise funds and to put back into their schools and community.''
The local effort is part of a national movement to return the country to a more civic-minded era, reflected during the 1950s heyday of community-service clubs. Now that young people are confronted daily with drugs, teenage pregnancy and other social ills, club members hope they can provide healthy alternatives and positive role models.
``We're just trying to help the city of Norfolk's school system - that's the bottom line,'' said Kiwanis Ernie Edwards.
Thomas L. Lockamy, assistant superintendent for school governance, said he believed the social unrest of the 1960s contributed to the unraveling of the community fabric. The ethos of the decade's protest movement, Lockamy said, encouraged kids to resist authority and reject the adult establishment.
But Lockamy and other school officials said today's generation of kids seem more interested in joining the mainstream and volunteering for community service.
``This is a group of the most concerned, active teenagers I have ever been exposed to,'' said Granby High teacher Michael Lynch, sponsor of the school's Key Club, the student affiliate of the adult Kiwanis Club. ``They're outwardly directed rather than inwardly.''
Jenny Goode, 17, a Granby 11th-grader and leader in the Key Club, said a handful of students resurrected the club last year and it now has about 50 members. For Goode, the club satisfies an urge to help others.
``I think it gives everybody a real good feeling about themselves, knowing they're helping out other people less fortunate,'' Goode said. ``It's needed today.''
Goode's club started a mentor program for ``at-risk'' kids at Granby Elementary. Club members act as big brothers and sisters, visiting the children weekly to help them with homework or to just talk.
The club also adopted the Ballentine Home for retirees. Members run monthly bingo games and help celebrate holidays. This month they made Valentine cards for the residents. In addition, the club is responsible for picking up litter along a section of Granby Street as part of the city's adopt-a-street program.
Baxter Vendrick Jr., now a freshman at Hampden-Sydney College, helped revitalize the Granby Key Club. Getting his peers involved was the hard part, he said, but once engaged great things happened.
``When people are given responsibility and trusted with things, something sparks up,'' he said. ``If you've got people doing something, others will join the bandwagon with you.''
Beaman, a charter member of Maury High's Key Club in 1948, said some students seem to think volunteering is ``nerdish.'' But being a civic club member is similar to being a gang member, except the benefits are much more positive, he said.
``It gives you a feeling of belonging, and you're a part of something that's constructive instead of destructive,'' Beaman said. ``You don't change society unless you change the individual. I'm a strong believer that volunteerism changes the individual.''
As a result of the recent civic-club summit, Frank Steadman, principal of Azalea Gardens Middle School, said his school plans to organize a Kiwanis affiliate. About 10 students now belong to a similar club sponsored by the Optimists.
``It's a chance to make contacts with people and to gain self-esteem,'' Steadman said. ``We provide a lot of opportunities, but I don't think you can provide too many.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by MOTOYA NAKAMURA
Granby High Key Club members Nathan Painter, left, and Kelly
Meservey make Valentine cards for residents of the Ballantine
retirement home.
Key Club members Brandi Wright, left, and Erin Holcomb talk about
their Valentine cards.
by CNB