The graduating class of 2024 set a record high number of 124 volunteers for this year’s Senior Day of Service, an optional event during the school’s ACT testing day during which seniors have the opportunity to volunteer at Omaha’s Open Door Mission.
The Open Door Mission is a nonprofit that provides resources such as food, shelter, clothing, household items, programs dedicated to helping people become self-sufficient, and a free health and wellness clinic for those who are financially struggling or homeless.
This will be the third graduating class from Papio South to have the opportunity to participate in Senior Day of Service. The first year seniors attended, there were about 65 volunteers.
Ms. Mary Ullery, senior class sponsor and organizer of the event, said the turnout exceeded expectations.
“We have over 100 people signed up, which is amazing, so we will be able to make a lot of changes there,” Ullery said. “I honestly thought if I emailed [Open Door Mission volunteer manager Deb Sakara], she would be like: ‘100 people? That is too many.’ But she was like: That is going to be so great. She was ready.”
The Open Door Mission is unique in that it is one of the only places in the area that can facilitate 124 volunteers. It would be easy for Senior Day of Service to become stressful with that many high schoolers in one place.
“Last year [Sakara] said: The kids you bring here are so great; they’re just having fun, but they are working hard,” Ullery said. “We always feel so good and proud. It’s easy to take [our students] out into the community and not have to worry.”
Every senior would have the choice of how to spend their day off from school on April 9 during ACT testing. The class of 2024 was motivated to use that time productively.
Senior Brock Hoover said, “I signed up because I believe … that I should help the community that day and do something I remember, rather than staying home and doing things I won’t remember.”
Senior Blake Gizinksi echoed that sentiment. “Serving and giving back to the community that I’ve grown up in is very important to me,” Gizinski said.
Many of the students signed up for Senior Day of Service do not need volunteer hours for anything.
When you go there and when you leave there, you can see the change in that place.
— Mary Ullery, Senior class sponsor
“They get all these donations, but nobody is there to sort them and put them out,” Ullery said.
Volunteer assistance makes it so that the Open Door Mission is easy to navigate and people do not have to scavenge to find what they need. A little bit of organization can make the experience of the Open Door Mission much more enjoyable and efficient.
“While most people in Papillion do not see the effects, the people who are residents of the facility or who depend on it for their livelihood definitely benefit from the work.” Senior class sponsor Brian Johnson said.
Students participating in Senior Day of Service will not have the opportunity to interact with the public because the Open Door Mission is closed on Tuesdays, and the ACT day is a Tuesday.
However, students will still be able to observe the positive effects of their work.
“When you go there and when you leave there, you can see the change in that place. Shelves are stacked,” Ullery said. “When we went there last year, the shelves were empty; and when we left there, the shelves were neat, sorted, stacked, full and ready.”
