While many high school students slept in each day, played video games, went on outings with family or friends, traveled, posted and followed social media, and worked jobs, there was much more to do at Mountain House High School and Millennium Charter School in Tracy.

All of these students had one thing in common: They picked up the phone, contacted the North Park Post-Acute Care Facility on Buthmann Avenue and asked, “Are you accepting volunteers?” They all volunteered 20 to 80 hours at the local nursing home in addition to their other accomplishments that summer.

A group of students entering their third year of college—Zara Haider, Iksha Sri Allam, Gabriella Dalmieda, Aakasha Nukala, Rishi Renganathan, and Viviaan Behl—were extremely successful, pursuing their volunteer activities while taking one or two 6-week online courses at San Joaquin Delta College, studying topics such as macroeconomics and political science/American government.

In addition to their classes and service in North Park, Zara and Gabriella each worked about 40 hours in the Tracy Interfaith Ministries warehouse, sorting food to be distributed to passing cars – very hot jobs in the Central Valley summer. They also sorted and organized nonperishable and canned food and clothing by size and made sure all bags were packed efficiently.

Vansh and Vanshika Sharma are following in the footsteps of their father, Pawan Sharma, who works as a physical therapist at several facilities in Tracy. The twins are in their penultimate year of college and are also pursuing medical degrees. They have both worked at the family-owned cafe and restaurant in Fremont.

Vanshika also attended Georgetown University in Washington DC this summer for a week-long advanced internship in medicine and public health. She was shown how to use various medical equipment and focused on patient care. She lived in a dorm and traveled with six or seven students from her school, as well as hundreds of students from high schools across many states. During the school year, the twins volunteer after school at the Mountain House Public Library.

Arnav Arvind, a sophomore, spent his summer coaching elementary and middle school students at the Mountain House Sail Fish swim club. Arnav himself is a member of the Mountain House High swim team and junior water polo team. He has been in the Boy Scouts for 4 years and is currently working on his Eagle Scout project.

All Mountain House students are required to complete 40 hours of community service before graduating. These students have set their sights much higher, trying to graduate with at least 100 hours.

Alexa Chavez of Millennium Charter High School spent a long Saturday afternoon painting the walls of the hair salon at North Park Post Acute and creating murals to spruce up the boring space and make it a more “salon-like” experience for everyone. She volunteers at North Park and works with residents one-on-one throughout the year.

Zara Hainder said, “Volunteering at North Park Post-Acute this summer was an eye-opening experience for all of us. Hearing the residents’ stories filled us with sadness, joy, and many other emotions. Many of the residents were excited to see new faces. A simple wave or a conversation brought a bright smile to their faces.

“We were deeply touched when they asked us about our lives in return. It showed us how much our presence meant to them. This experience was heartwarming and there was never a moment when we didn’t enjoy the moments we spent getting to know these residents. I hope others follow our example and positively impact the lives of these residents recovering from surgeries or setbacks.”

With the help of residents, a community project began. Under the watchful eye of Activities Director Natalie Avery, student volunteers worked long hours with volunteers and staff to produce thousands of bookmarks that were given away to local schools to encourage reading. Magazines were recycled – cut up and glued to strips of cardboard – and residents and volunteers then drew outlines using stencils for young students to color in.

These volunteers often had a longer workday when the residents were eating lunch, but they continued anyway. They sat in the conference room and continued painting.

We at North Park Post – Acute are so proud of the young volunteers! We will continue to welcome volunteers during school holidays. We are always looking for magazine donations for this community project. Please contact North Park Post Acute to arrange magazine donations, (209) 832-2273.

n Contact Tracy Press at [email protected] or 209-835-3030.