Web site makes it easier for youngsters to lend the community a helping hand

Mike Memoli's Boy Scout Troop has completed more community service projects recently than it has members.

He lists off all that the boys have accomplished: "Putting sand in sandbags for hurricane preparation, picking up trash in Lehigh Acres, picking up trash along the beach, a service project for our church, painting kennels, helping at shelters during hurricanes..."

Though there is a lot to be done, matching the five scouts, aged 11 to 14, to an appropriate effort can be tasking for Memoli, who as troop leader is himself a volunteer.

Enter Forest Getter, teen volunteer coordinator for the Fort Myers-based Friendship Volunteer Center.

This February, the center began reaching out to Lee youth, offering them a chance to get involved with projects that welcome underage helpers through a Web site designed by Getter's 16-year-old daughter, Megan, for her own scouting project.

Memoli said the service eliminates the checking and double-checking he had to do in the past to get his scouts involved.

"(Before) it was like eight phone calls before we knew, whereas Forest has a complete list," Memoli said.

A directory of organizations at www.volunteerlee.org lists information about groups ranging from the Bonita Springs Literacy Council to the AIDS Resource Council of Southwest Florida. In addition to how to contact them, the Web site includes information on the groups' mission, what type of teen volunteers they're seeking and what services they need.

About 70 Lee County kids and teens are actively using the site, Getter said, many of them members of larger groups like one from Trafalgar Middle School or scouting troops.

On Youth Service Day in late April, teens contributed 809 service hours at different projects around the county, painting shelters at the Animal Refuge Center, cleaning roads in Lehigh Acres, volunteering at the Harry Chapin Food Bank and participating in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.

North Fort Myers and Lehigh Acres have been special areas of focus for the teens, but Getter said they hope to expand across the county.

Teens from any part of Lee County can be matched to a volunteer effort, he said.

"Finding an organization that accepts teens, and a teen without a parent, can be tough thing," he said.

The goal is to find an effort that pairs a youngster's desire to help with something that interests them, he said.

Some prefer to work with the elderly, while others have their eye on animal shelters or Habitat for Humanity.

Volunteering can not only be good for the soul, but for teens' futures as well.

To be eligible for the Florida Academic Scholars Award, students must complete 75 hours of community service.

Meg Krieg, a guidance counselor at Estero High School, said plenty of other students offer their time as well. It's experience they can write about in admission essays and rounds out their academic resumes, she said.

"It's always a good experience for the kids," she said. "It broadens their horizons."

That's not lost on Memoli, the parent of three, including a 12-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl at home.

Volunteering gives them a sense of accomplishment, he said, but also is preparation for college and the world beyond.

Scavenging the beach for bits of trash recently, his troop learned one lesson early.

"It's a lot more fun to go out and do these service projects with your friends than to do it yourself," he said.