For many years, Benilde-St. Margaret’s Volunteer Corporation has been a very well-known club at the school. The Red Knight Volunteer Corps is the biggest club at BSM, where students volunteer through many different organizations and other opportunities. This club offers many opportunities for students to grow their work and character in and outside of school. This year an advisory board was added to the club due to lack of organization. This advisory board adds a new level of responsibility to those students who sign up.
Through volunteer work, students have the opportunity to grow and shape themselves. Some of these volunteer opportunities may include setting up chairs for mass or shoveling someone’s driveway in the winter. Students who would like to participate in this opportunity are sent an email at the beginning of the school year from theology teacher Peg Hodapp. Once you join the group there are a required four events you must participate in per semester.
Organization is a huge part of starting a club or extracurricular activity, those on the advisory board take on the important role of organizing a substantial group of students. There are over 50 students who have taken on this new and important role. “We make sure our RKVC is an organized group of professional individuals who truly are dedicating their time to service and the betterment of the BSM community,” junior board member Ella Adams said.
Joining RKVC is also a huge part of students and their college application process. Volunteer work from students leaves a very good imprint on colleges. “I wanted to take a bigger step. Leadership at Benilde-St. Margaret’s looks good for college and I really want to get into a good college and have a good life,” Adams said.
With RKVC being one of the biggest clubs at the school, it comes with a lot of responsibility and honesty when it comes to tracking your hours and showing up to the events you signed up for. “The group is so huge that in order to plan little events and things like that, we thought it’d be easier to have an advisory board,” Theology teacher and club organizer Peg Hodapp said.
The advisory board is split into four different groups that the students have the opportunity to organize. “It’ll be split into a group that will talk about service activities, one that we’ll talk about social events. One that’s going to kind of keep track of hours and layout procedures for the group. And then one that’s going to kind of focus on our social justice area,” Hodapp said.