Red Knight Volunteer Corps members showed both their competitive and their service spirit at the St. Therese Oktoberfest on Oct. 8, 2011, which served as both a volunteer opportunity and a competition between Holy Family’s volunteer group and RKVC. The competition provided an incentive to gain more volunteers by providing a prize for the school with the highest attendance.
The competitive aspect of the event sparked the ambitious spirit of the Red Knights, who stepped up to the challenge when it presented itself. “The competition was really successful…I sent out an email to the Volunteer Corps…clarifying the point that it was a competition between Holy Family and us. Within the next 24 hours, ten or twelve kids signed up,” said Mr. Zach Zeckser, Red Knight Volunteer Corps Adviser.
The dedication of RKVC members paid off with a clear victory for the Red Knights. “BSM kids showed that they have competitive colors to wear…[Holy Family] had four or five volunteers, and we had more than twenty,” said Mr. Zeckser.
Not only did the volunteers showcase the school in attendance, but also in performance. “Every kid that signed up showed up wearing their BSM red, so BSM was very well represented. [The organizer of the event] said the kids did a great job––they were always smiling and asking what more they could do,” said Mr. Zeckser.
St. Therese reaped the greatest benefits of the competition by gaining volunteers, but students also had reason to enjoy the event. “Volunteering is a good thing to do, and when you can make it a fun competition like that with no real winners or losers…it just makes it more fun volunteering,” said freshman Annie Dillon.
Holy Family’s volunteer coordinator did have to face the consequences of the loss by wearing an RKVC t-shirt to work at Holy Family High School for a day. “If we didn’t send enough volunteers then I would have to wear a Holy Family hat to BSM for a day, and I had an RKVC shirt ready to send over to Holy Family,” said Mr. Zeckser.
The loss, however, did not diminish the good spirit of the event and the friendly connection between the two schools. “They just kind of laughed because they knew we had won because of the amount of sign ups…it’s all in good fun,” said Dillon.
This hybrid of a volunteer event and a competition between schools may resurface in the future. “To some degree it has to be kind of organic, I don’t want to force it too much, but I’m guessing that this might be an annual contest…I anticipate we’ll do it again,” said Mr. Zeckser.
