Senior Alicia Clark was awarded Harker’s Community Service Spotlight Award at a recent Monday morning school meeting. At the gathering, she received a $200 check from the Harker Upper School Community Service Program, which she in turn donated to the Ronald McDonald House in Palo Alto.

The Community Service Spotlight Awards are sponsored by Harker’s outreach department and take place several times during the school year. They were created to celebrate and honor the outstanding community service completed by upper school students.

In her acceptance speech at the meeting, Clark explained that she began doing community service in grade 7 when she joined the National Charity League (NCL), a mother/daughter organization that helps less fortunate community members. Since then she has completed more than 500 volunteer hours with more than 15 organizations.

“Today, I have been asked to tell my story and talk a little bit about why I love community service,” said Clark in he speech. “I joined NCL to be a more active member of my community even though at the age of 12 I never could have known exactly what that meant. My first experience was making flower pens and cookies to put in a gift basket for Meals on Wheels. I grew up feeling very lucky and thankful for everything I had. I can’t imagine not having everything that my parents have worked so hard to give me. So, I just want to help others feel as lucky as I have always felt.”

Clark went onto say that community service can be a great opportunity to spend time with friends and family while also helping others in need. “You get to see for a moment how the world is so much bigger than you and how you have the ability to help your fellow humans. I can’t imagine my life without all of the organizations I have volunteered with and I really encourage those of you who have not had the opportunity to get involved in the community to start now,” she concluded.