Around East County: Rotary Club of Brentwood to honor more than 50 middle school students
Brentwood and Byron middle school students fanned out across East County over the past year to offer volunteer work to their community. The Rotary Club of Brentwood will honor more than 50 students, ages 11 to 14, for their noble services at an upcoming ceremony. As a token of appreciation, they’ll be awarded a special Rotary pin and certificate.
“It’s great to see so many kids doing so many wonderful things,” said Rotary Youth Services Chair Oscar Peccorini. “We’ve teamed up with the middle schools’ leadership programs for this program that is near and dear to our hearts.”
The Rotary clubs in the area are dedicated to upholding the fundamental principle of the Rotary motto, which is “service above self.” Their primary goal is to encourage social responsibility and service learning within the local community.
Ashmitha Vadla, a 14-year-old student from Brentwood’s Adams Middle School, gave up her free time last summer and volunteered 300 hours at the Antioch Senior Center. A time she found very rewarding and inspiring.
“At the beginning, I wasn’t so sure about volunteering,” she said. “Once I started, I met so many wonderful people.”
Despite her initial hesitancy, Vadla found a meaningful way to contribute. Through her weekly visits, she discovered various tasks to assist with, including office work, spending quality time with the seniors, helping with crafts and reading to them. She hopes showing such willingness to step out of her comfort zone will help inspire others to volunteer.
“I remember one woman had pretty bad eyesight, and I would help her whenever she needed me to,” Vadla said. “It was very rewarding and so good to help someone in need.”
Cherry Chou, also a student at Adams Middle School, shared comparable experiences to Vadla. In 2019, she began volunteering with my mother at NAMI Contra Costa, which is linked with the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
“In NAMI, I participated in many activities, such as helping the homeless, fundraising events, advocacy for suicide prevention and social justice,” she said. “My experience with NAMI taught me a lot of skills, such as the importance of mutual support, self-care and advocacy for people’s needs and rights; it taught me ways to look out for my peers if they are struggling with mental health and potentially preventing them from doing anything that they would regret later.”
Chou was chosen for the Youth Hall of Fame Awards of Contra Costa County this year because of her work at NAMI. She won in the Rising Star category for middle school students and was recognized for her teamwork skills.
Chou also promotes inclusiveness and health at school by organizing events like “A Day of Understanding” and attending the Teens Tackle Tobacco Conference. She plans to share what she learned with parents and students to encourage mutual respect, avoid drugs and lead a healthy lifestyle.
“Our programs are open to all students,” said Taylor Thornbill, leadership teacher at Adams Middle School. “We encourage our students to do something outside our normal clubs.”
According to Thornbill, students engage in a variety of activities, such as assisting the Special Olympics, volunteering at Brentwood Community Food Chest, Tunnels of Joy, church and other community events. Students can start volunteering this summer to get credit for the program. The Rotary program mandates 15 hours of service, but most students go beyond that requirement.
Antioch Water Park: Get ready to dive into some fun because the Antioch Water Park is open this weekend, and starting June 10, it will be open daily to kick off the season. You can enjoy the park’s facilities from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and participate in special evening events and rent the facility for your own events.
Located at 4701 Lone Tree Way, the Antioch Water Park charges $16 for general admission on weekends and $14 during the week. The park also offers an array of activities outside of open hours, including swim lessons, water aerobics and lap sessions. For more information, visit antiochca.gov.
Roni Gehlke can be reached at oakleynow@comcast.net.