With the goal of developing young boys into future philanthropic leaders, Teen Volunteers in Action and its Point Loma-area chapter don’t focus on a competitive system or expensive training camps.
Instead, TVIA has the boys work side by side with their parents in hands-on volunteer service.
The idea is that the youngsters’ confidence and leadership skills grow and they become determined to carry on their volunteerism, philanthropy and personal development wherever their future takes them.
Burrito Boyz is one of many organizations helped by TVIA. With the mission of “saving the world one burrito at a time,” the group, with the help of mostly teenage volunteers, delivers up to 500 burritos to San Diego-area homeless people each week.
It’s a favorite of Noah Indyk, 17, a senior at Point Loma High School who has been a TVIA member since ing in seventh grade.
“We start at 6:30 a.m. on Sundays,” Noah said. “After we make the burritos, we go downtown and give them to the homeless. But we don’t just hand them out; we talk to the people and give them a smile, because they don’t have anyone to talk to and that goes a long way to them.
“It’s really rewarding to me. It taught me about spreading positivity and how much it can help other people.”
Noah’s mother, Grace Indyk, has served on the TVIA board the past two years. His younger brother, Jude, 14, an eighth-grader at Grant School in Mission Hills, also is in the program.
“We ed because we were searching for some way to do community service, but not just once in awhile. We wanted something we could really get involved in,” Grace said. “The aspect of the parent going with their teen is very rewarding and helps make TVIA unique.”
Grace said she has enjoyed watching her sons find their voice and take leadership roles and that attending the volunteer events together “is one of our family favorites.”
TVIA participant Christopher Shen said “I always thought the homeless were dangerous and I hadn’t interacted with them.”
He said he changed his mind after a morning spent handing out food and supplies with Burrito Boyz.
“I talked to a few of the homeless and they are just normal people,” he said. “Us being there and helping them made their day a lot better.”
Whitney Lowe, president of TVIA San Diego 4, covering the University of San Diego/Mission Hills area, said there are six chapters across the region, including Chapter 6 representing Point Loma. Boys generally the chapter closest to their homes, but with space usually limited to 200 per chapter, it’s not always possible. New chapters are opened if needed, Lowe said.
hip is available for boys in seventh through 12th grades and their families. Sixth-grade boys can apply for their seventh-grade year.
Seminars for grades 9-12 are designed to prepare the teens for college and independent life and include a variety of topics, including the college application process, personal finance, car maintenance and basic cooking.
Once the youths reach grades 10-12, they can apply to the TVIA Leadership Council. Only about 20 are selected, and they help run TVIA meetings and determine which charities will receive any extra funding that is available.
Christopher, 18, a senior at Pacific Ridge High School in Carlsbad, said he “didn’t think I totally wanted to be signed up” when his mother, Carrie Shen, discussed ing TVIA when he was an eighth-grader.
Now, Christopher said, “I fully my mom’s decision.”
Carrie said she encouraged her son to the organization when she realized how many volunteer opportunities were available.
She said they have volunteered for beach cleanups, helping at senior centers, pulling weeds at Rose Creek and assisting with marathons.
“You’re getting them out in the community and they realize that even if they might be doing something small, they can make an impact for the people they are helping,” Carrie said.
Christopher has progressed from “standing around in eighth grade” to “taking initiative, being proactive and asking for things to do,” she said. “He realizes he is there to help other people.”
He also has learned leadership and organizational skills and become a better speaker, she added.
“He’s learned how to work with grown-ups and that he can really make a difference in his community. … He showed up and did his best, and it matters,” she said.
Christopher plans to attend college and said he feels sure the skills he’s gained from being a TVIA member will be assets.
“I didn’t even know what a calendar was in middle school, but being in TVIA has helped me get better organized,” he said. “I also tried for the Leadership Council and initially didn’t get in because I didn’t prepare very well. The next year I did prepare and was on the council.”
Sports are a big priority for many of the teenage boys, and through TVIA, they can find volunteer opportunities in the sports they enjoy.
Grant Stewart, 18, a senior at Point Loma High with “a lot of soccer experience,” said his favorite volunteer effort so far has been with TOPSoccer (The Outreach Program for Soccer), which provides organized activities for athletes with physical, developmental and cognitive disabilities.
Grant ed TVIA when he was in eighth grade and said it has improved his leadership skills.
“The kids can’t lead themselves, and I’ve learned how to deal with not just those kids but how to adapt to any of the volunteer challenges and grow from them,” he said.
The organization also “brings together guys from around the city and you make friends you might not otherwise know,” he said.
“I’ll carry these experiences with me the rest of my life,” Grant added. “And I will continue to volunteer because it’s a great way to help the community.”
Grant’s parents, Jim and JoAnn Stewart, also have a daughter involved in volunteerism; in fact, she paved the way for Grant’s involvement.
“She was part of MADCAPS [Mothers and Daughters Club Assisting Philanthropies], a similar organization for women,” JoAnn said. “I saw positive changes in her and that encouraged me to go ahead with ing TVIA.”
JoAnn said her favorite experience with TVIA was volunteering with Serving Seniors, an organization that helps low-income people 60 and older with meals, housing, and health, social and learning services.
“We were serving food and participating in their activities,” JoAnn said. “As a geriatrician, I wanted to expose Grant to the senior community and how our needs change as we age.”
Like Grant, Noah said he found his TOPSoccer experience to be very rewarding.
Also like Grant, he said he will “find places to volunteer” wherever he goes.
“It’s a good way to make yourself feel better and to make others feel better,” Noah said. “I think the world would be a lot happier with more positivity.”
Noah, a future biology major, said he made a rule for himself that in TVIA “I would sign up for every chance to be a public speaker and I would get a little better each time.”
At a recent event attended by 400 people, “I felt the most confident I’ve ever been,” he said. “That will help with my future.”
Lowe, the Chapter 4 president, said she, her husband, Jesse, and their sons, Tom, 17, and Nick, 14, are involved in the group.
“As parents, it’s all about perspective,” Lowe said. “There is very little more important to me than spending time with my kids working on issues such as the ones we volunteer for.”
After a volunteer session, she spends time with her boys discussing their experiences.
“Just because I’m an adult doesn’t mean I’ve done all this,” she said. “I would by no means consider myself an expert on food scarcity or homelessness. I just spent two hours on the beach with my son picking up trash. That’s why I do it — I need exposure, too.”
A send-off party will be held Thursday, May 1, for TVIA high school seniors with multiple years of volunteer service.
To find out more about the organization, visit tvia.org. For information on ing Point Loma’s Chapter 6, email [email protected].
