Plano Profile July 2009 : Page 70
volunteering National Charity League offers meaningful diversion to young women and their moms M any teens are so consumed with schoolwork, friends, jobs, and other activities that they never give commu- nity volunteering a second thought. not so for the young ladies of the North Dallas Chapter of the National Charity League, often sim- ply referred to as nCl. This year alone, the senior class members of this chapter and their mothers volunteered more than 1,500 hours of service in the local community through a variety of venues. “The national Charity league is unique in that it is comprised of mothers and daughters who work together at local philanthropies and chapter events,” said national Charity league north Dallas Chapter Senior Presentation Chairman Holly Williams, whose daughter Jordan is involved in the group. “Mothers and daughters are invited to join in seventh grade and serve in the community for the next six years. The north Dallas Chapter supports more than 20 local charities including ronald McDonald House, frisco family Services, the SPCa, Susan G. Komen foundation, Plano Parks and recreation, and more than 10 others.” The north Dallas Chapter of nCl serves area cities including Dallas, frisco, Plano, and Prosper and currently has 172 girls, called Ticktockers, involved in the program. This number fluctuates from year to year, Six years of dedication and service is honored at National Charity League’s annual Senior Presentation. Front row: Alexandra Flecker, Alexa Ibarguen, Allie Newman, Jessica Clifton, Kristina Reimer, Kendall Wilson, Catherine Turano, and Abby Freeman. Second row: Sydnie Shimkus, Andie Rodgers, Morgan LePage, Kelly Dorrian, Caroline Wolf, Riley Lewis, Elise Hewitt, and CassieWeinberg. Back row: Sarah Johnston, Ashley Johnson, Erin Light, AshleighWomack, and BriannaWucinski. Photo/DallasParty.com 70 Plano Profile JULY 2009 depending upon the size of the group’s incoming seventh-grade class. During a girl’s six-year tenure, focus is placed on leadership and social skills development, but the pri- mary focus is always on volunteering in the community. Holly said that her daughter’s involvement in the group gave her an opportunity to make a difference in the community. “Participating in national Charity league gave her an organization to fit into, a place to really shine, while making a difference,” Holly said. “nCl has taught my daughter the importance of working in our commu- nity. last year she volunteered more than 120 hours because she loves it. She gives a lot of herself but re- ceives much more in return. after working with young children at two of her favorite philanthropies—Plano family literacy Center and friday nite friends—Jordan has realized she wants to become a teacher. i am grateful that nCl opened these doors for her.” Jordan recently completed her junior year at Plano West Senior High School. She loves working with children and is taking early childhood development classes through the high school. She also focuses her volunteer efforts on children. “i try to find activities where i can work with chil- dren,” she said. “i love rocking the babies at even Start or reading books to preschoolers. My mom and i also love friday nite friends. We play with special needs children while their parents take a few hours off.” Jordan said she not only gets to participate in vol- unteer activities that she loves through nCl, she’s also learned many new skills. “i go to meetings with girls that are my own age,” she said. “We run our own meetings and plan events
Volunteering
Amy Sandling Crawford
National Charity League offers meaningful diversion to young women and their moms
Many Teens Are SpConsumed with schoolwork, friends, jobs, and other activities that they never give community volunteering a second thought.
Not so for the young ladies of the North Dallas Chapter of the National Charity League, often simply referred to as NCL. This year alone, the senior class members of this chapter and their mothers volunteered more than 1,500 hours of service in the local community through a variety of venues.
“The National Charity League is unique in that it is comprised of mothers and daughters who work together at local philanthropies and chapter events,” said National Charity League North Dallas Chapter Senior Presentation Chairman Holly Williams, whose daughter Jordan is involved in the group. “Mothers and daughters are invited to join in seventh grade and serve in the community for the next six years. The North Dallas Chapter supports more than 20 local charities including Ronald McDonald House, Frisco Family Services, the SPCA, Susan G. Komen Foundation, Plano Parks and Recreation, and more than 10 others.”
The North Dallas Chapter of NCL serves area cities including Dallas, Frisco, Plano, and Prosper and currently has 172 girls, called Ticktockers, involved in the program. This number fluctuates from year to year,
Depending upon the size of the group’s incoming seventh-grade class.
During a girl’s six-year tenure, focus is placed on leadership and social skills development, but the primary focus is always on volunteering in the community.
Holly said that her daughter’s involvement in the group gave her an opportunity to make a difference in the community.
“Participating in National Charity League gave her an organization to fit into, a place to really shine, while making a difference,” Holly said. “NCL has taught my daughter the importance of working in our community.
Last year she volunteered more than 120 hours because she loves it. She gives a lot of herself but receives much more in return. After working with young children at two of her favorite philanthropies—Plano Family Literacy Center and Friday Nite Friends—Jordan has realized she wants to become a teacher. I am grateful that NCL opened these doors for her.” Jordan recently completed her junior year at Plano West Senior High School. She loves working with children and is taking early childhood development classes through the high school. She also focuses her volunteer efforts on children.
“I try to find activities where I can work with children,” she said. “I love rocking the babies at Even Start or reading books to preschoolers. My mom and I also love Friday Nite Friends. We play with special needs children while their parents take a few hours off.” Jordan said she not only gets to participate in volunteer activities that she loves through NCL, she’s also learned many new skills.
“I go to meetings with girls that are my own age,” she said. “We run our own meetings and plan eventsCitizens, or animals, and give it a try.” Abigail Freeman is one of 21 North Dallas NCL young women honored at the group’s annual Senior Presentation, which took place in March.
The 18-year-old recently graduated from Plano West Senior High School and will be attending Texas A&M, where she plans to study elementary education.
Always busy with activities such as the high school yearbook, National Honor Society, and B’nai B’rith Youth Organization, she always made time to dedicate to NCL activities and volunteer opportunities. She volunteered more than 100 hours during her six-year tenure with NCL, aiding groups such as Plano Parks and Recreation—Therapeutic Recreation, Operation Kindness, and the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.
“From the very first day of working with special needs children, I knew I’d found something that I felt extremely passionate about,” she said. “And for the past six years, I’ve spent hundreds of hours working with these amazing kids and loved every minute of it!” Freeman said that although there are many volunteer opportunities and chances for learning, NCL offers girls lifelong friendships and time to just be silly, too.
“This year for our NCL retreat, we went to Austin Ranch,” she said. “All of the grade levels came together, and for our big activity we had a goat dressing relay race. We literally put a skirt, hat and scarf on a goat. I think it was supposed to promote teamwork, but I don’t think any of us could take it seriously!”
Freeman encourages teens to set aside time to volunteer, no matter how busy their schedules get.
“You have to find time to do anything that’s important to you,” Freeman said. “I promise that everyone has time to volunteer.
Is it sometimes a sacrifice? Sure.
But at the end of the day, you will feel so much more accomplished than you otherwise would have. When you volunteer for a cause that you feel passionate about, there is no better feeling. There are volunteer opportunities every day, during the summer, on weekends, on school days…you can find a time when you are not busy. People will always have dance, basketball, softball, yearbook, and band, but everyone can find time to volunteer.”
Abigail’s mother, Joyce Freeman, has held numerous leadership positions with the North Dallas NCL chapter and is now a chapter “Diva,” which means that she is the mother of a graduating NCL member.
“Abby is a pretty amazing kid,” she said. “She’s smart, grounded, and has a real passion for working with kids and helping others. We volunteered together with many different groups over the years, but NCL gave Abby the opportunity to find her passion working with special needs kids, and she did it because she loved it. In fact, she’ll tell you that one of her pet peeves is people who volunteer just to get a line on their résumé. The joy of it for me is that I got to work alongside my daughter and see her at her best—not always the side a teen daughter shows her mom at home!
“Is there anything more important you could do than spend meaningful time with your daughter?” Joyce added. “Time while she is still at home passes so very quickly. It’s worth making the time you do have count. My daughter leaves for school in the fall, and I could kick myself for all of those times she asked me to do something and I was ‘too busy’ doing something that didn’t really matter.” There are six NCL chapters in close vicinity. Chapters include North Dallas, Plano, Richardson, Golden Corridor, Addison, and the newest in Frisco.
Publication List
