YHS Students Extend Opportunities to Volunteer in Maine with Original Website
by Mary Psyhogeos
November 13, 2019 In the summer of 2018, Yarmouth High School student Parker Harnett, like many teenagers, wanted to volunteer. She quickly became overwhelmed, however, and found that she “didn’t know where to start.” “It was really hard to navigate the different organizations that existed, and I wanted to find one that I liked,” Harnett explained Thus the inspiration for How to Help in Maine was born. It began with a website created by Harnett and her father designed to help viewers find organizations that they like. In November, she reached out to fellow student Zoe Siegel and |
|
they held their first meeting the same week.
Since its creation in November of 2018, How to Help in Maine has grown to an organization with an impressive website which helps viewers find the location to which they want to donate money, materials, or volunteer their time and has established a scholarship for Maine students with the help of Martin’s Point Health Care. Harnett and Siegel also worked throughout the summer of 2019 to create a video for their organization.
For their work, Harnett and Siegel have been recognized in articles by the Portland Press Herald, the Falmouth Forecaster, and the Lewiston Sun Journal, as well as at a Sea Dogs game, where the two threw out the first pitch. They also spoke at a Social Media and Engagement Night in September, 2019.
Both agreed that the work has required a lot of public speaking, for which they are grateful.
“That’s always been a huge issue for me and we’ve had to do a ton of that, which is really good for us,” Harnett noted. In fact, she has found that their work has helped them cultivate many necessary life skills such as cold-calling, sending emails, acting on camera, and coding.
The project hasn’t always been easy, however. The first step was reaching out to charities and Harnett and Siegel soon discovered that getting organizations to respond in a timely manner is one of the most difficult parts. Overall, Siegel believes that they have had “great feedback” and that “a lot of organizations are really happy to work with us,” but it has been a long journey to find them. Other challenges that they have faced include generating interest in the website and balancing the project with school and extracurriculars.
Though time management is sometimes tricky, Siegel thinks that it “is important to show that we manage our time well to do this project because I think that a big message is that even with school and sports, you can still volunteer.”
These struggles have not affected the success of How to Help in Maine, which continues to look ahead. On November 15, they will be holding a volunteer fair at Yarmouth High School to help students find organizations they like and to pursue their passions. Also in November, Harnett and Siegel are holding an hour and a half workshop at the Mayan Youth Conference, which Harnett said is “daunting.” Meanwhile, the two continue to add charities, work on getting other schools involved, and promote the scholarship.
Their next long-term goal is an app that Harnett plans to create through an ELO during the spring of 2020 in order to make the organization more mobile.
Both Siegel and Harnett are surprised and pleased with the response and achievements regarding their organization. “I think it’s cool that people are using it,” said Harnett.
Siegel noted that she’s been “so impressed by how many students [and] how many adults want to participate in it.” How to Help in Maine has certainly become a valuable resource for a previously unaddressed issue and has helped make getting involved much easier for many. It’s an idea that has transformed itself into very admirable action.
“In this day in age, there’s been a lot of movements in youth empowerment [such as] MeToo and Climate Strike,” Siegel said, “and I’m proud that we’re kind of putting our voices into that and inspiring people to volunteer.”
Harnett is most proud that it is a cause that they are both interested in and care about, which she believes is “really powerful.”
For more information on How to Help in Maine, visit their website at https://www.howtohelpinmaine.org/
Since its creation in November of 2018, How to Help in Maine has grown to an organization with an impressive website which helps viewers find the location to which they want to donate money, materials, or volunteer their time and has established a scholarship for Maine students with the help of Martin’s Point Health Care. Harnett and Siegel also worked throughout the summer of 2019 to create a video for their organization.
For their work, Harnett and Siegel have been recognized in articles by the Portland Press Herald, the Falmouth Forecaster, and the Lewiston Sun Journal, as well as at a Sea Dogs game, where the two threw out the first pitch. They also spoke at a Social Media and Engagement Night in September, 2019.
Both agreed that the work has required a lot of public speaking, for which they are grateful.
“That’s always been a huge issue for me and we’ve had to do a ton of that, which is really good for us,” Harnett noted. In fact, she has found that their work has helped them cultivate many necessary life skills such as cold-calling, sending emails, acting on camera, and coding.
The project hasn’t always been easy, however. The first step was reaching out to charities and Harnett and Siegel soon discovered that getting organizations to respond in a timely manner is one of the most difficult parts. Overall, Siegel believes that they have had “great feedback” and that “a lot of organizations are really happy to work with us,” but it has been a long journey to find them. Other challenges that they have faced include generating interest in the website and balancing the project with school and extracurriculars.
Though time management is sometimes tricky, Siegel thinks that it “is important to show that we manage our time well to do this project because I think that a big message is that even with school and sports, you can still volunteer.”
These struggles have not affected the success of How to Help in Maine, which continues to look ahead. On November 15, they will be holding a volunteer fair at Yarmouth High School to help students find organizations they like and to pursue their passions. Also in November, Harnett and Siegel are holding an hour and a half workshop at the Mayan Youth Conference, which Harnett said is “daunting.” Meanwhile, the two continue to add charities, work on getting other schools involved, and promote the scholarship.
Their next long-term goal is an app that Harnett plans to create through an ELO during the spring of 2020 in order to make the organization more mobile.
Both Siegel and Harnett are surprised and pleased with the response and achievements regarding their organization. “I think it’s cool that people are using it,” said Harnett.
Siegel noted that she’s been “so impressed by how many students [and] how many adults want to participate in it.” How to Help in Maine has certainly become a valuable resource for a previously unaddressed issue and has helped make getting involved much easier for many. It’s an idea that has transformed itself into very admirable action.
“In this day in age, there’s been a lot of movements in youth empowerment [such as] MeToo and Climate Strike,” Siegel said, “and I’m proud that we’re kind of putting our voices into that and inspiring people to volunteer.”
Harnett is most proud that it is a cause that they are both interested in and care about, which she believes is “really powerful.”
For more information on How to Help in Maine, visit their website at https://www.howtohelpinmaine.org/