Area youths honored by Optimists
BY AMY ROSEN Staff Writer
In the spirit of rewarding those who help others and to celebrate Youth Appreciation Week, the Noontime Optimist Club of Freehold has honored 20 youth group members from the First Presbyterian Church, Freehold Borough, for their efforts in helping needy people.

The Optimists presented each youngster with a certificate during an awards ceremony held Nov. 14 at the Star and Barry Tobias Ambulatory Campus at CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township.

Optimist International is one of the world's largest service club organizations with more than 120,000 adult and youth members in more than 3,800 clubs in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and throughout the world. Youth Appreciation Week made its debut in 1956 and was designed to highlight the youngsters' positive contributions to society.

According to Carole Robinson of Freehold, secretary of the Noontime Optimist Club of Freehold who co-chairs the Youth Appreciation Week committee with Barbara Shandler of Marlboro and Ann Denise Rubino of Middletown, every year the Optimists choose to honor youngsters who have done nice things for the community.

The members of the committee collect newspaper articles and information in search of prospective groups to honor and they talk with youth group advisers to try to find children who go out of the area to help people who are less fortunate.

The First Presbyterian Church's youth group members were chosen to be honored this year because of their involvement with the Group Workcamps Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Colorado that arranges mission trips for groups from all over the country.

Group Workcamps Foundation arranged for the youth group members from the First Presbyterian Church to go to Pittsburgh, Pa., to provide maintenance and repair assistance at the homes of elderly individuals. In some cases the efforts put forth by the young people kept residents from being evicted from their home.

The Rev. Cindy Bowman of the First Presbyterian Church led the youth group on its trip. She said this marked the second time the church's youth group participated in such a mission and a third trip is planned for next summer.

She explained that before any of the volunteers could go on the trip, they had to work hard to prepare for it. First they were required to attend two training sessions; one on sensitivity and another that focused on group building skills.

They also had to participate in at least one other service project. In addition, they fed breakfast or lunch to needy people in Freehold as part of what was called the sanctuary program. The young missionaries also sold tickets and served food to people who attended a pancake breakfast to help

raise funds for the church. With all of those requirements completed, the youngsters were granted permission to go on the six-day trip in June.

While they were in Pittsburgh, the youth group members, who range from being in middle school to having just graduated high school, joined about 100 other young people from all over the country. They were divided into work crews and did various jobs that included cleaning homes, clearing out overgrown yards, painting and helping at church vacation bible schools.

When the young travelers returned from their trip they were required to share their experiences with the members of their church and discuss what the trip meant to them.

The members of the First Presbyterian Church youth group who were honored by the Noontime Optimist Club were Amy Amuquandoh, Kevin Amuquandoh and Sam Matino, all of Englishtown; Rebecca Bowman, Kevin Canto, Kyle Canto, Connor Kenny, Katie McCoy, Christy McCoy, Kristin Mann, Corrinne Miller, Courtney Morrice and Julie Walker, all of Freehold; Scott Como of Colts Neck; Mike Keane, Gregg Pascullo and Nick Pascullo, all of Jackson; Lauren Keil and Juliet Klesitz of Howell; and Steven Minden of the New Egypt section of Plumsted.

The Nov. 14 festivities at the medical center included a reception for the children and their families in addition to the awards ceremony. Several members of the youth group had the opportunity to speak about their experience.

Bowman said, "I think it's an honor and it's great that the Optimist group is looking to find kids who have cared about other people."