CARIBOU, Maine — Since Caribou High School’s JMG (Jobs for Maine Graduates) program began in Aug. 2016, its 37 students have collectively contributed over 1,200 hours of community service work.
According to Dr. Valerie Waldemarson, JMG specialist at CHS, community service involves helping with events at the Rec Center, The Caribou Marathon, Thursdays on Sweden, food drives, blanket drives, and the Caribou Craft Fair, to name a few.
Initially hesitant to look at the total hours worked, Waldemarson said she was “floored” when she saw how much time her students put into helping others in the community.
“Each student needs 50 man hours in community service to graduate high school,” Waldemarson said, “and almost every one of my students has greatly exceeded that requirement. Some have over 200 hours individually.”
While the students need 50 hours throughout their entire high school career, these students’ hours were only counted from last August until now.
“I think if you give children the opportunity,” Waldemarson said, “they want to do good things for their community. Each student here conducts themselves on the basis of morals and guidance; I never have to question their intentions when they go out into the community.”
Students can join JMG at any point in their high school career, and as a result the program has a variety of members at all age levels.
CHS freshman James Belyea particularly enjoyed participating in a recent food drive.
“I really felt like I was giving back to community,” Belyea said, “and helping them out in an important way.”
Belyea’s job involved staying after school, packaging food, putting it on display, loading it into a truck, and bringing it to a food pantry.
Freshman Cheyenne Cormier said she couldn’t pick a favorite aspect of the program, adding that the experience, as a whole, has been positive.
“I look at each part of JMG as a good memory,” Cormier said, “all of it.”
Sophomore Kayla Creasey enjoyed volunteering time during the Caribou Marathon.
“I stood on the sideline giving runners fruit cups and drinks,” said Creasey. “It’s empowering seeing them to continue running and to be able to motivate them along the way. Being there to tell them how great of a job they were doing was great.”
Sophomore Caragan Haney has a great time whenever she helps out the community.
“I’ve basically had a smile on my face whenever I’m doing something with JMG,” Haney said. “I have a great time doing community service, and met my (50-hour requirement) during my freshman year.”
Haney added that JMG helped her see things from a “different point of view,” and showed her “how much you can help people who are struggling.”
Junior Stewart Curtis has fond memories of attending the Career Development Conference, an annual event held in Thomas College in Waterville that celebrates the accomplishments of seniors in the JMG program.
“I jumped out of my comfort zone,” Curtis said. “I never thought i would’ve done that before — talking in front of bunch of people. Meeting people in general was great, as well as seeing how nice they are and how they can get along even if they don’t know each other.”
Junior Cody Anderson is most proud of hitting the 1,200-hour milestone, and says the program can facilitate self-improvement.
“Before JMG, I was never an outgoing person,” Anderson said. “I always kept to myself, and I was never out there trying to help. JMG helped me give what I have to the community.”
Anderson cited a spaghetti dinner at the Caribou VFW as having a significant impact.
“Getting out and helping to feed veterans had a big impact on me,” Anderson said.
Senior Conner Spencer appreciated the networking aspect of the program.
“You get a lot out of community service,” said Spencer. “I’ve spent a lot of time contacting people in the community through JMG, and as a senior going to college next year, it’s nice to get in touch with other people in the community; it will make life much easier later on.”
Senior Kara Madore, like Curtis, particularly enjoyed the CDC in Waterville.
“We met kids from all across the state and compete in several events,” Madore said, adding that the JMG program is helping her with paperwork and financial aid for college, where she plans to study nursing.
CHS Principal Travis Barnes is proud of the students and their achievements, and attributes all of the success and hard work to them.
“This is a good example of how kids can bring their talents to the forefront,” Barnes said. “JMG takes what they’re learning on a daily basis and turns that into employable skills, and that’s big.”
