SPHS student spreads word about community involvement (Printed Feb. 2, 2007)
By Ward Peck
Editor
When Bobby Bassinet stood in front of a cafeteria full of sophomores, he could have talked about the time he met several Red Sox heroes like Jason Varitek and David Ortiz, or about the retreats where he and a group of other students from around New England met and learned team-building and leadership exercises.
Instead, he spoke about the elderly people he has met at Portland’s Bayview Heights public housing complex.
“Do you have a grandmother who always pinches you on the cheek?” Bassinet asked his classmates. “Everyone of them is your grandmother.”
Bassinet was talking to the students to see if they were interested in joining him in his volunteer work. Is so, Bassinet said, “It’s cool.” If not, “that’s cool, too.”
No one jumped out of his or her seat to join, but Bassinet had a more modest proposal. Gift baskets would be set up in each “home base” classroom, and students are invited to bring home goods to contribute to the people of Bayview Heights. Canned food was good, but also needed are the everyday supplies: sponges, soap, toothpaste, light bulbs toilet paper– all the things an elderly low income person may choose to do without when making difficult choices.
Bassinet got involved with the people of Bayview Heights when he joined “action Team, a partnership between the Volunteers of America and the Major League Baseball Players Trust and sponsored, in part, by TD Banknorth and through a grant from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation. Action Team is a national youth volunteer initiative created to inspire and train the next generation of volunteers.
Action Teams are a national effort. It began in 2003 with 900 Denver-area students contributing 1,400 hours of service.
It has since grown to nine cities and states.
Major League ball players contribute their time to help teach the importance of community involvement and create student leaders to encourage more widespread involvement.
As an Action Team leader, Bassinet is charged with communicating the importance of community involvement to his classmates in an effort to recruit other youth to work with Volunteers of America on volunteer projects. But he has been inspired by the people he has met at Bayview, during get-togethers and parties. In addition to the gift basket drive, which the team will deliver in March, Bassinet plans to contribute to a landscaping project when the weather warms.
Yes, Bassinet could have told his classmates about going to Fenway Park and rubbing shoulders with world-class athletes, but he was much more interested in the other people he met– not as objects of charity but as people with wisdom and experiences that just may be more valuable than fame.
Editor
When Bobby Bassinet stood in front of a cafeteria full of sophomores, he could have talked about the time he met several Red Sox heroes like Jason Varitek and David Ortiz, or about the retreats where he and a group of other students from around New England met and learned team-building and leadership exercises.
Instead, he spoke about the elderly people he has met at Portland’s Bayview Heights public housing complex.
“Do you have a grandmother who always pinches you on the cheek?” Bassinet asked his classmates. “Everyone of them is your grandmother.”
Bassinet was talking to the students to see if they were interested in joining him in his volunteer work. Is so, Bassinet said, “It’s cool.” If not, “that’s cool, too.”
No one jumped out of his or her seat to join, but Bassinet had a more modest proposal. Gift baskets would be set up in each “home base” classroom, and students are invited to bring home goods to contribute to the people of Bayview Heights. Canned food was good, but also needed are the everyday supplies: sponges, soap, toothpaste, light bulbs toilet paper– all the things an elderly low income person may choose to do without when making difficult choices.
Bassinet got involved with the people of Bayview Heights when he joined “action Team, a partnership between the Volunteers of America and the Major League Baseball Players Trust and sponsored, in part, by TD Banknorth and through a grant from the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation. Action Team is a national youth volunteer initiative created to inspire and train the next generation of volunteers.
Action Teams are a national effort. It began in 2003 with 900 Denver-area students contributing 1,400 hours of service.
It has since grown to nine cities and states.
Major League ball players contribute their time to help teach the importance of community involvement and create student leaders to encourage more widespread involvement.
As an Action Team leader, Bassinet is charged with communicating the importance of community involvement to his classmates in an effort to recruit other youth to work with Volunteers of America on volunteer projects. But he has been inspired by the people he has met at Bayview, during get-togethers and parties. In addition to the gift basket drive, which the team will deliver in March, Bassinet plans to contribute to a landscaping project when the weather warms.
Yes, Bassinet could have told his classmates about going to Fenway Park and rubbing shoulders with world-class athletes, but he was much more interested in the other people he met– not as objects of charity but as people with wisdom and experiences that just may be more valuable than fame.
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