Courtesy of Chuck Lionberger

Lauren Guzinski and her parents Marilyn and Joseph Guzinski when she received the Volunteer of the Year award in the youth division from the Council of Community services.

For some, high school is a time best spent relaxing before college comes and the "real world" begins. Thoughts about helping others and contributing to the larger community are often few and far between amidst homework and Saturday night plans. But for students like Lauren Guzinski, high school presents the perfect opportunity to explore the benefits of being a volunteer.

"Volunteering has helped me as a person to understand what my interests are," she said about her experience with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises money to help cure diabetes.

Lauren, who will enter her senior year at Cave Spring High School next fall, started volunteering at JDRF a year and a half ago while she was doing a science project about diabetes. She decided to stay even after the project was complete.

"The people there are really nice. It's a small office of three people, so I got to know them really well," she said. "And I don't do sports or anything so it was a good way to spend my time and be productive."

Aside from merely being productive, Lauren became an important part of the JDRF office, proving that it doesn't take much to make a big difference. She spends one day a week doing odd jobs for the foundation such as writing thank-you letters, stuffing envelopes and organizing mailing lists. She has also assisted JDRF with their two largest fundraisers of the year -- the Walk to Cure Diabetes and the Star City Gala.

"I've gotten to the point now where I just feel really dedicated to this disease and helping them to find a cure for it," she said.

Sally Nichols, special events coordinator for JDRF, is impressed by Lauren's devotion to her work at such a young age. "You just don't find 16 year-olds with quite that amount of dedication," she said.

Other members of the community were also impressed by Lauren's continuous effort to make a difference at JDRF and she was recently named Volunteer of the Year in the Youth Division of the County Council of Community Services. She called winning the award an "interesting experience."

"I was taking the SAT the morning they had the reception, but I was allowed to go to a board meeting and accept the award there," she said.

Lauren recognizes volunteerism as an important learning opportunity.

"Not everyone is as fortunate as I am. I come from a nice middle class family and my parents are going to pay for college," she said. "I haven't had to struggle through anything like diabetes but I've seen kids as young as one who were never allowed to even eat certain things. It was hard to see that and learn that other people have a lot bigger issues than I do."

She also credits her volunteer work with helping her to step outside her comfort zone.

"As a volunteer I've been able to interact with so many different kinds of people and if I had done sports I would probably have stuck strictly to high school kids," she said. "It's a lot broader range of people that I've been able to meet."

"It makes you realize that at one point in your life someone could tell you you'll never have the same life again. Being able to understand other people in addition to yourself is important," she said.

Lauren, who also works four days a week serving coffee at the Daily Grind, says she will continue to volunteer with JDRF until it comes time for college. She hopes to attend the University of Mary Washington to study business or management, but her drive to volunteer won't end there.

"After college I've toyed with the idea of joining the Peace Corps and giving two years of my life to helping around the world," she said. "I've studied Spanish for five years, so going somewhere in central or South America would be a good experience."

To those who consider becoming a volunteer, Lauren says, "You need to give it your all. You need to do something because you feel a connection instead of just because it will make you look good when you apply for college or try to get a job."

As for volunteer opportunities for others at JDRF: "We're always looking," said Nichols.