Giving back to the community holds more power than it seems. Constantly volunteering time out of the day to help the less fortunate not only gives a person a clean conscience, but it also leaves lasting impressions on each party involved.  

In Papillion, CHI Health Midlands is a hospital that has a program that helps teenagers get volunteer hours. The teens involved work one day a week for three hours, and are tasked with many different responsibilities every week, but a few remain constant. 

“We work the Welcome Center, sanitizing all the floors, volunteering with other staff and helping patients out whenever we can,” senior Harrison Holloway said. 

National Honor Society requires the members to complete 25 service hours before the end of the semester, and Midlands can offer those up to them. Many of the volunteers that are already participating are having a blast and love being around the caring staff members every week.  

“I really want to give back to my community,” freshman Roshu Senthil said. “I need the service hours.” 

Even though Midlands is a hospital, there are endless memories made by the volunteers. Every week something new happens that transforms those teen volunteers into well respected young adults.  

“My favorite memory is making fruit cakes in the fall and winter seasons,” Holloway said. “You get to meet a lot of different people from different parts of the hospital that you usually don’t get to meet. Working on the fruit cakes is a lot of fun.” 

There are opportunities to get extra hours, like helping at charity events or coming in two days during the week instead of one.  

“I did an extra day on a Friday morning,” Senthil said. “I got to work hands on with people and take them up to rooms. I also got to hang out with the senior volunteers. One guy, Derrell, was really cool.” 

Midlands has shaped scared freshmen into confident, productive members of society going off to college. The volunteers can start as soon as freshman year, and the seniors leave in early May. There are endless opportunities to give back, and Midlands is a great option for those looking for service hours.