ACTION TEAM CAPTAIN of the Month
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“It Comes Down to Basic Human Compassion. I Believe Everyone Has a Desire to Help Others and Do Good.”

Action Team Captain: Jeremy Carter

School: Scarborough High School,
Scarborough, Maine

Grade: Senior

I volunteer because … “I really like the feeling of knowing that I have helped someone else. It sounds like a cliche, but it is the truth, and I'm sure those out there who volunteer on a regular basis would agree with me. Just the feeling that you [get] when someone thanks you - or even when you just know you helped out - is a feeling that beats almost anything. It comes down to basic human compassion. I believe that everyone, no matter who they are or where they are from, has somewhere inside of them a desire to help others and do good, because everyone knows that feeling when it hits them . . . that you have made a difference in someone's life.”

I joined the Action Team . . . “because it's unique. There are the trips to the Boston Red Sox stadium for training and to meet with the Action Team Major League baseball players [Jason Varitek, Alex Cora and David Ortiz]. I didn't know how involved in service they are until I joined the Action Team. Throughout the year, we get support from the Action Team players as we carry out service projects. Being an Action Team Captain also provides a chance for service leadership by organizing projects and recruiting other teens to volunteer. "

Favorite volunteer experience . . . “It's a tie. The first would be the Scarborough Senior Citizens Fall Cleanup Day that the Scarborough High School Action Team put together. We cleared several lawns for senior citizens, who without us would never had had their lawns raked. It was a great day, we had over 60 volunteers, and we really did a lot of good work." (Check Service In Action for tips from the Scarborough Action Team on rakin' and rollin' for seniors where you live.)

"The other experience is my Key Club's annual Polar Dip. Every year we pick a different service organization (Heifer International, Children of Peace International, and Project G.R.A.C.E. have been a few), and we go around to citizens and businesses to collect pledges. Then, on a day in February, we congregate at Pine Point Beach in Scarborough and jump in the freezing cold ocean. It's an exhilarating experience that I have done twice, and it is so much fun!"”

First volunteer experience . . . “ I was a freshman. It was in the winter and I had been in Key Club but had yet to do anything really big. Our annual Polar Dip was coming up, and the club needed two people to stand outside the supermarket in Scarborough and collect donations for Project G.R.A.C.E. I signed up, along with the Vice President of the club, and we stood outside on that February Saturday for 9 hours. The temperature never went above 32. It was such a cold and long day, but we raised a lot of money and we had a very good time doing it ? and I can honestly say that since that day I have been pretty addicted to volunteering.”

How volunteering benefits me. . . “I don't generally look at volunteering that way - but it would have to be that volunteering has made me a better, more well-rounded individual. I have met people from all around whom I otherwise would not have met, I have been introduced to different ways of life, and become a much better person for the experience. And as an Action Team Captain, I get significant opportunities to be a service leader.”

How I benefit my community as an Action Team Captain and Volunteer. . . “I think that others in my community are given a sense of comfort that there are teenagers out there who are willing to serve and help their community. Aside from direct benefits like raking a lawn [such as through the Action Team leaf cleanup day], the fact that teenagers in the community have built a reputation as volunteers gives people in the town the peace of mind that they have a group to turn to who will not judge them, who will not turn them away, and who have the [energy and] resources to provide assistance to them in a way that many adult organizations may not be able to. It all stems from the fact that we get out there and volunteer to begin with."

As an Action Team Captain, what I tell other teens to encourage them to volunteer? . . . “I talk about my experiences, the fun I've had, and the friends I've made. Teens are generally social creatures always looking for fun and friends, and the fortunate thing with volunteering is that it almost always encompasses both. Once the teens get out there, often times on the promise that they will have fun, they experience that feeling of helping others. It takes that one good volunteer experience and then teens are hooked, and although you still have fun with your friends when you volunteer, it starts to mean so much more.”

My volunteer goals for this year . . . “To increase membership and participation in the Scarborough Action Team and my school's Key Club. The Action Team projects give Key Club members more ways to earn their service hours. The more members and projects we have, the more ready and able we are to do a lot of good in our community. My personal goal is to log at least 150 hours of my own service before the year is out.? I think through the projects of the Action Team and Key Club, I will achieve that goal - and surpass it.”

What’s in My iPod . . . “When people look at my iPod, they tell me I should have been born a generation earlier. I love classic rock, especially from the '60s and '70s, and although there is some newer stuff on there, the most listened-to songs are from classic rock bands like Boston, AC/DC, The Doors, Credence Clearwater Revival, Pink Floyd, .38 Special, and many other old bands.”

Favorite baseball player . . . “Mike Lowell, the third baseman for the Boston Red Sox, because I think he is a solid defensive player who really comes through in the clutch on offense when you need him.”

It takes that one good volunteer experience and then teens are hooked, says Jeremy Carter. Action Team Captains get the added incentive of support from Major League Action Team players. Here, Jeremy (kneeling, fifth from left) and other Maine Action Team Captains are honored on the field at Fenway Park by Boston Red Sox Action Team player Alex Cora. Earlier, Jeremy (third row from the top, far left) was among Maine Action Team Captains sharing their service experiences with Red Sox Action Team player Jason Varitek.