A young
volunteer
has her own
fan club at the
j;ld
Development
Center.

PHOTOS BY JOHN DISCH ER

JULIE WIENER STAFF WRITER

t's hard to keep 13-year-
old Michelle Markzon
away from her volunteer job.
As soon as she comes home
from school, when other kids her
e might be tempted by the TV,
Michelle takes off for the Jew-
ish Community Center's Child
Development Center (CDC),
where she helps out with the in-
fants, toddlers and 3-year-olds.
When her mother, Debbie
Markzon, can't drive her,
Michelle gets there on
rollerblades or bicycle.
"Nothing will stand in
her way of getting there," said
Mrs. Markzon. "Whenever she
has free time, this is where she
goes."
Her efforts are rewarded the
moment she walks into the class-
rooms of the JCC day care center,
where she is greeted with ador-
ing calls of "Shel! Shel!" (To the
little ones eager for her attention,
"Michelle" is too big a mouthful.)
Herself a graduate of the JCC's
nursery school, Michelle started
volunteering there a few months

ago for her bat mitzvah project.
"When they told us about the
volunteer requirement, I knew I
wanted to work with kids," she
said. 'They gave us a list of places,
but I didn't even look at it because
I knew I wanted to work here."
The Jewish Parents Institute,
where Michelle celebrated her bat
mitzvah in May, required that
she log 32 hours of volunteering.
At last count, she had logged al-
most 300.
Michelle lends a hand wherev-
er it's needed, whether
it means changing dia-
pers, cleaning a face
after a meal or simply
playing. One of her
favorite activities is
taking the children
-swimming, but she also
loves feeding them.
She says she likes
small children of all
ages. "Babies are cute
and need your help
more than ever, but
they really don't talk
to you," she explained.

Above:
with children. "I've al-
"Older kids talk to you,
Michelle,
ready planned everything
but they're not as cute as
when they were littler." working with the out," she said. "I'm going
3-year olds.
to work as a kindergarten
CDC Director Fredelle
teacher, then at 3:30 or
Schneider raves about
Belo w:
whenever I get out, I'll
the energetic addition to
Ready to
come here and work
the program. "The kids
volunte er.
here."
love her," Ms. Schneider
When not at school or
said. "She's been as loyal
an employee as one of our regu- volunteering at the JCC,
Michelle is taking dance classes
lar employees."
A seventh-grader at Abbott or babysitting. And lately she's
Middle School, Michelle says she been going to a lot of bat mitz-
wants to spend her life working vahs.
The only problem,
says her mom, is that
with the busy schedule
and active volunteer-
ing, Michelle is never
home to babysit her
brother and sister. "I
lost a babysitter," sighs
Mrs. Markzon. "I wait-
ed for her to get old
enough to babysit for
the younger ones. Now
she's old enough, but
she's always [at the
JCC.]"

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