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Volunteer says goodbye to Club

'Enthusiastic' Boys & Girls Club Volunteer Coordinator says goodbye to children, coworkers

Kaci D. Sintek

Issue date: 6/2/08 Section: News
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Chelsea Harlos, center, a senior in human development and family sciences, plays Uno with a group of girls at the Boys and Girls Club of Corvallis Monday. Harlos works full time as the volunteer coordinator at the club while also taking classes at Oregon State University.
Media Credit: Jeff Wick
Chelsea Harlos, center, a senior in human development and family sciences, plays Uno with a group of girls at the Boys and Girls Club of Corvallis Monday. Harlos works full time as the volunteer coordinator at the club while also taking classes at Oregon State University.
Amidst flying ping-pong balls, hand-made rainbow colored paper flowers and hundreds of four-and-a-half feet tall kids that would make the energizer bunny look slow, Chelsea Harlos, 23, joins the rush in the Clubhouse with bright eyes and a big smile.

Harlos, a senior in human development and family sciences, is not only a full-time student at Oregon State University, but is also working as an AmeriCorps VISTA as the volunteer coordinator at the Corvallis Boys & Girls Club.

However, after working at the club for five years, the non-profit organization will lose Harlos this year as she retires from the position to pursue her career.

Harlos started as an All Star Cheerleading coach for the Albany YMCA back in high school and ended up harboring ties to the Boys and Girls Club. She became active within the club as a freshman in college and has recently started working as the volunteer coordinator and AmeriCorps VISTA for the past year.

AmeriCorps is a national community service program that chooses select individuals to serve in low income neighborhoods and work full time at the poverty level, making less than $700 a month.

"It's very stressful but very worth it," Harlos said.

Growing up, Harlos described how she had a "good" life with few financial problems. However, her world changed after entering the club, igniting a passion to serve others less fortunate than her.

"It definitely changes your view on what you want to do," she said after explaining her switch from studying education to social services upon working at the Boys and Girls Club.

The Clubhouse is one of three different after-school programs provided by the Boys and Girls Club. Serving roughly 350 kindergarten through 12th-grade students a day, the club offers a safe haven for kids that often come from families in need.
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