KIDS GIVE
Kids give to their community in lots of ways: traditional volunteering; respecting friends, parents, animals, and the environment; supporting local stores; and doing internships. As interns ourselves, we feel connected to our town. We learn new things, work with adults who love what they do, and give adults reasons to trust us. Sharing our stories with you might inspire you to look for internships, too!
Frances
One day when I was buying chocolate at Dorinda’s Chocolate Café, I asked Dorinda Vance if I could help her. I wasn’t surprised when she said yes because she’s so jolly. ‘Come on Saturday for our holiday party,’ she said, ‘and, if you could, dress as an elf.’ I prepared my costume, turning my Converse into green, duct tape elf shoes. Five days later I walked down our street to work. Dorinda asked me to wash my hands while I sang the ABCs, fold a humongous pile of clean towels, and serve kids and adults hot chocolate, pumpkin truffles, and ‘Dori-Os,’ which are Oreos but better. Lately, I’ve been helping Dorinda package chocolate for the busy holidays. I love to put the golden pad on top of the caramels to help keep them fresh. I like to work for hours, and when I’m hungry Dorinda feeds me her homemade soup. With Dorinda, I’ve learned that water is chocolate’s biggest enemy, that kids hug elves, and that when you work with someone happy, you collect her mood. I feel happy inside.
There’s nothing painful about working with chocolate, except that you can’t lick your fingers. But when you slaughter chickens, turkeys, or hogs, pain happens. I help at the Shaw Family Farm’s harvests because I love the family, and because I learn how to deal with knives and how to be tough about death. Often, I’m the only kid there, but Barb’s family and friends don’t treat me like one. I never carry the chickens by their feet to the metal slaughter cones; instead, I cradle them so they’re not too sad before they die. I help put them in the cones headfirst and watch the Shaws’ son Gage, 15, slice their necks. At the big stump I chop off their heads with an ax. At the evisceration table, I cut them open and pull out their insides, sometimes finding the dark blue sack holding un-laid eggs, some with shells, some without. My mom asked once if when I cradle the chickens I tell them that it’s gonna be all right, and I said to her, ‘But it’s not gonna to be all right; they’re gonna die.’ Barb says she likes nurturing a future farmer. And guess what? You don’t need an internship to spend time with adults you like. I sit and knit with Barb every Tuesday, and play with her kittens!
Eleanore
I was scared to ask, but Mayumi Elegado, owner and publisher of Moonshine Ink, was thrilled and accepting of my uncommon idea: I wanted to be an intern for the newspaper. I now go there weekly and love that the Moonshine staff trusts me. Recently, I’ve been in charge of the monthly ‘Do-Tells.’ I’m a shy kid, but now I’m walking up to strangers, asking them personal questions, and taking their pictures. Moonshine trusted me to write all the thank you notes to their longtime advertisers. I signed them, ‘Eleanore, Moonshine Ink Intern.’ I was astonished that they let me sign my name! I learn so much from working at the paper: how to commit and follow through; how much work and motivation it takes to make a newspaper; how you need to love what you do in order to do it well; and finally, how all the different parts of the paper come together. Here’s what Mayumi said about interns: ‘Moonshine Ink savors the opportunity to work with a budding journalist who provides a fresh perspective to our editorial and lends a helping hand where it’s needed. It’s important to us to work with the journalists of tomorrow, to continue this important legacy.’
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