24 | SEPTEMBER 22 • 2022 
 
 
 
 

J

illian Vondell, 16, of 
Bloomfield Hills and 
Naveen Jackson, 16, of 
Commerce Township have both 
been nominated by the Repair 
the World for their active par-
ticipation in PeerCorps High 
Detroit, the nonprofit’s teen ser-
vice-learning program.
“Jillian and Naveen have been 
a wonderful addition to our 
PeerCorps cohort last year,
” said 
Brittany Feldman, Youth and 
Family senior program associate 
for Repair the World.
“Jillian is very passionate 
about social justice issues that 
impact her community, such 
as the climate crisis and food 
insecurity. In addition to being 
a part of PeerCorps High, she 
also started a club at her school 
through a nonprofit organiza-
tion called Girls Who Code, 
which aims to support and 

increase the number of women 
in the computer science field.
”
This isn’t the first year Jillian 
has been involved with the 
PeerCorps program. She says 
she first learned about it when 
she was getting volunteer hours 
for her bat mitzvah. 
“I was volunteering with 
Repair the World, so I quickly 
learned about the program,
” 
Jillian explained.
“Then, in high school, I 
decided to join the program 
and have been involved for the 
past two years. And I hope to 
continue it throughout the rest 
of my high school career.
”
Throughout her PeerCorps 
experience Jillian says she’s 
learned about different kinds 
of volunteer opportunities 
throughout the community and 
says she would like to work with 
some of the organizations part-

continued on page 26

Meet two teens who actively 
volunteer with Repair the World’s 
PeerCorps High program.

PeerCorps Teens’ 
 Passion to 
 Give Back 

RACHEL SWEET ASSOCIATE EDITOR

OUR COMMUNITY
VOLUNTEERS OF THE WEEK

PeerCorps volun-
teers weed gar-
den beds at Keep 
Growing Detroit, 
which is one of their 
service partners 
during the year.

Naveen Jackson 
helps pack PPE 
kits for Brilliant 
Detroit, another 
PeerCorps High 
service partner 
organization.

