Hope Heimer, right, and Julieta Cervantes have volunteered for the last three years at Sacred Heart Care Center. - Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

Teens give back every Tuesday

One week at a time.

That’s how two girls from Austin make a difference when many other people their age likely don’t.

Hope Heimer and Julieta Cervantes, both 14, volunteer every Tuesday at Sacred Heart Care Center in Austin. For three summers, they’ve been lending helping hands in any way they can, and they’re just getting started.

The girls jumped at the opportunity when Hope’s grandmother, Paulette Lewis, a day program aide, helped them get in the door. She works at Sacred Heart, and the arrangement has worked out well for everyone, especially Hope and Julieta.

The girls were looking for a volunteer opportunity to qualify for the National Junior Honor Society when they were in sixth grade. Though they were looking to do good and receive high academic recognition, they discovered much more. They’ve learned from people generations older than them, learned how to interact with the elderly and even seen a few glimpses of career opportunities.

Hope realized her volunteer work was taking her somewhere when she attended a career session at Ellis Middle School. She said a lot of her peers didn’t have experience in a work setting, and that’s when she realized she was also doing a service for herself.

The career session made her realize she was getting ahead.

“I have something nobody else has,” she said about experiences some of her peers lack.

But aside from helping themselves academically, the girls have started to enjoy what they do.

“You get to go do something for somebody else that’s not just for yourself,” Hope said about volunteering in the day program.

Furthermore, both girls are growing more comfortable around elderly and learning to interact with them better. Though they were hesitant at first, Hope and Julieta have taken more roles at the care center and even built a rapport with some of the members.

Val Moldenhauer, LPN and director of the day program at Sacred Heart, said the residents often like to see younger faces among their groups. It gives them something else to talk about, brings back memories and offers a change of pace.

Dorothy Mallan, a resident at Sacred Heart, can attest to that.

“It’s really refreshing to see the young people interested in older people,” Mallan said. “You don’t see that often.”

Mallan and members of her group discussed what they were doing during their teens. They said many were working on farms or baby-sitting. And today, that has changed. Fewer kids live on farms or take jobs. Moldenhauer and others at Sacred Heart wish that wasn’t the case nowadays. Moldenhauer spoke about the benefits of youth volunteering in the community.

“I just think it builds great character for a young kid, and that’s what we should be promoting for our kids nowadays,” she said.

Julieta can agree with that statement.

“I think it would be way better if more people did (volunteer work),” she said.

But at Sacred Heart, more volunteers may be following Hope and Julieta’s lead. Since the two girls started volunteering, two other youths started at the care center, as well. Sacred Heart employees hope it’s something that may pick up in the future, so they could possibly start an actual volunteer program.

Whether that comes to fruition, Hope and Julieta are still dedicated. They’ve even volunteered elsewhere, including the TRAM bike ride, Relay for Life and Humane Society.

What started as something to benefit themselves has grown to something that now benefits everyone: Sacred Heart employees, seniors, parents, animals and the entire community.

Both girls plan to continue their efforts next year, “…and the year after that, and the year after that and the year after that,” Julieta added with a smile.