Students Offered Opportunities to Volunteer at 2018 Competitions

After a successful trial-run last year, Empire is excited to introduce public service opportunities at all three of its competitions in 2018.  

“Public service teaches young people the value of doing good for others, which is such an important lesson at this stage of their lives,” explained Empire’s Executive Director, Justin Matarrese. “This initiative is part of our broader mission of developing students into engaged and compassionate citizens.”

Before students battle in the courtroom, they’ll work together to serve the communities in which their competitions are held.  We will actively encourage all of our students to participate!

For this week’s OTR piece, we’ll take a look back at our 2017 projects and ahead to what our Family should expect this year.

Empire San Francisco: GLIDE Memorial

Last year, Empire San Francisco teams volunteered at GLIDE Memorial, where students helped feed the homeless in San Francisco. Some helped set up and prepare meals by chopping vegetables and bagging lunches. Others were responsible for serving the meals.

King’s High School from Seattle, Washington participated in the project.

“Helping prepare meals and learning about problems people face in our cities showed me that everyone can have a positive impact in the life of another person,” said Jake Orme, a student on the team.

Not only did they make a significant impact by serving over 200 people, students also learned about the mission of the organization and how it informs GLIDE’s work every day. Marian Morris, the coach for King’s, spoke about the support the students received from the staff:

“The staff was so gracious to answer the students’ questions and engage them in an in-depth meaningful dialogue regarding poverty and homelessness,” remarked Morris.

Her daughter, Kathryn, a freshman on the team, spoke about the perspective she gained from the experience:

“Glide exposed me to the fact that even in a beautiful city like San Francisco, there are parts of town where there is suffering and pain,” reflected Kathryn. “The people at Glide were so grateful for our help… and I hope I get to participate in a similar volunteer opportunity again soon.”

Empire is excited to announce that it will be hosting this project at GLIDE Memorial again in 2018! We are also working on additional volunteer opportunities for Empire San Francisco, so stay tuned.

Empire New York: Pitch In, Pick Up

New York natives and visitors alike frequently enjoy the lovely greenspace offered by Central Park. But of the 35 million visitors each year, few are aware of the maintenance required to keep it beautiful.

The Central Park Conservancy is the organization dedicated to keeping Central Park’s 843 acres lush and vibrant. But they cannot do it alone. With the amount of time, energy, and resources required to keep it clean, they rely on the community for support. They set up a program called Pitch In, Pick Up to do just that.

Last year, three teams participated in this program, doing everything from cleaning an area of the park to sweeping the sidewalks.

“It was fun to act as the cleanup crew with our badges, and think of creative places to find litter,” said Lauren Dangel, a senior at Central High School from Martinsburg, Pennsylvania.

Lauren’s team even turned the adventure into a competition: they battled to see whose trash bags were the fullest!

“Giving back to Empire, and especially the community that held it, seemed as natural as going to the competition itself,” said Neely Ayers, Lauren’s teammate at Central High School. “Walking through Central Park and making it a little more beautiful for someone else is something I’ll never forget.”

For some, it was a nice break from the high tensions that come with trial competitions.

For others, it was a great opportunity to make new friends and strengthen existing bonds.

For all, it was a great opportunity to give back to the community while working with others who shared the same goal of volunteering for the common good.

Students will have the opportunity to Pitch In and Pitch Out again this year! Keep an eye out for sign-ups.

Empire Atlanta: New Service Projects!

The United Way in Atlanta is ready to put our Empire Family to work assembling and decorating snack packs. The packs will be given to children in low income areas whose education is affected by hunger and housing instability.

“The snack pack project is an amazing opportunity for every student competing in Atlanta to participate in one collaborative service project,” explained Empire’s Director of Competition Experience, Amber Rumancik. “Prior to the start of the opening ceremony, all students will work together to create these snack packs. Not only will we be providing local children with needed nutrients, but also with encouragement–each bag will be decorated with quotes, poems, pictures and words of inspiration. I couldn’t be more excited about this partnership and the opportunity for the whole Empire Atlanta group to work together.”   

Finally, Empire Atlanta is offering a project with Safehouse Outreach that will allow students to serve lunch to the homeless. Afterwards, volunteers will be able to talk with the homeless and learn their stories.  

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We hope that your team will consider joining us this year as we serve the local communities that are kind enough to host our competitions.  

Teams that are interested in applying for a 2018 Empire competition can still do so! Just go to empiremocktrial.org/apply. Applications are due by June 21.