For many students at SHS, the 50 hours of community service requirement is completed mostly in order to attend prom and to graduate. But some students decide to go above and beyond and really give back to the community in a more lasting and beneficial way.
In the summer going into freshman year, senior Brittany Grimes decided to start her community service early in her high school career. She began to volunteer with the Special Olympics sector in Scituate and now has over 100 hours of community service completed.
Grimes has volunteered for the Special Olympics for nearly four years. She coaches people with special needs ages 6 to 74 in track and field events. Her experiences in this activity are “very rewarding” Grimes said. Working two practices a week in the spring and summer and various other practices throughout the year, Grimes is “so dedicated” said senior Kelly Donovan. Senior Jack Theodore said “she lives for it…they all love her”.
Not only has Grimes learned a lot about working with others and about how to communicate with those that think differently from her, she has made many friends in the process. She describes the Special Olympics training, which takes place at the SHS turf, as very positive and uplifting. It is “more of a fun thing” she said. Grimes and her fellow volunteers encourage anybody that wants to participate in the program to contact them because they are always welcoming more volunteers.
Grimes works closely with Betsy Callanan, who took her to the Special Olympics State Office in May of 2013 after seeing Grimes’ passion for the program. She said, “Brittany is a key to our success”. Because of Grimes’ steady commitment and work with the Special Olympics, she is now the youngest certified coach in the state of Massachusetts.
Graduating this spring, Grimes hopes to pursue a career in special education. Her work with the Special Olympics in Scituate has reinsured her how much she values working with those that have special needs. Senior Katie Neil said “she just has the patience to do anything for anybody”.