Needing to complete the required 12 hours necessary for sophomore service hours, Ellie Rosso began volunteering at Vivienne’s Joy, a foundation meant to bring awareness to Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood. Vivienne’s Joy was founded in 2017 and has recently finished fundraising to build a new playground in Boyd Park in Saint Paul. Knowing the family who created Vivienne’s Joy, Rosso began volunteering with the foundation and even brought along some of her friends.

“I did the basics to help spread awareness about the project, like handing out flyers, and fundraising for the foundation. I was with my friends, so it was really fun to be giving back to the community and still being able to hang out with my friends,” Rosso said.

Reflecting on her own life after volunteering, Rosso began thinking about how her own actions would be shown throughout the community.

“I learned that I was most successful while volunteering when I gave back to the community because it was the right thing to do, and not because I needed to do it. I think I worked harder because I thought about how it would help others,” she said.

Rosso believes that everyone should help their community by volunteering, whether they need to or not.

“Volunteering is an easy and fun way to give back to the community or a cause, and it can help people realize what they are passionate about,” Rosso said.