by Mel Rubenstein
Contributor
This story begins with Sue Wright, Anna’s mother. Sue was born in Syracuse, attended Henninger High School, and received her BA in History at SUNY Oswego. About this time Sue read a book titled, “How to Make the World a Better Place: a Guide to Doing Good.” That motivated her to become involved in volunteering. Wright’s first volunteer effort was the Syracuse Real Food Cooperative, where she eventually became the General Manager. She said; “I came to value the difference volunteers make and raised my children in that positive environment.” Sue Wright is now President of Theology & Peace, an organization that addresses the role of racism in American Society. She is also a volunteer for InterFaith Works of CNY. This is where I met her.
While attending committee meetings for the InterFaith Works Annual Harmony Assembly, I noticed that Sue Wright, one of the other committee members, brought her daughter, Anna, with her … more than once. At first I thought it was because she had just picked her up at school, or something of that nature. But then, I found out that Anna was a volunteer doing art work for the InterFaith Assembly event, and that Sue and Anna had been volunteering there for 4 years. Amazingly, Anna is a student in the 8th grade in Jamesville-Dewitt Middle School and had already been an active volunteer in other ways. When I asked Sue if I could feature Anna in this column she smiled and said; “of course.”
Anna was born in Syracuse, and as a 6-year-old she began volunteering at the Petit Branch Library. A couple of years later she was an usher at the Symphoria Casual Series at St. Paul’s Cathedral. This was a natural because Sue and Anna were congregants of the Church and are friends with Victoria King, former manager of Symphoria. A few years ago she began ushering for the Syracuse Shakespeare Festival.
Being a parishioner of St. Paul’s opened up many more volunteer opportunities for Anna. When Anna found out that many people who lived in the downtown area and inner-city did not have access to fresh produce, and when they did, the prices in the downtown stores were higher than the large supermarkets in the suburbs, she wanted to do something about it. So, Anna and 2 of her friends went to the Matthew 25 Farm in Tully, packed freshly picked veggies in boxes, and brought them to the downtown YMCA Residence for distribution. Matthew 25 Farm is a not-for-profit public charity that works to ensure that no Central New Yorker goes without fresh produce. To accomplish this, they grow, harvest, and distribute fresh vegetables and fruit to those in need throughout CNY.
While involved with the fresh produce project, Anna learned that the United Way was also helping people that did not have basic hygiene items. The stores that were accessible to them did not have some of those items, and when they did the prices were too high, much higher than the suburban markets and drug stores. So, Anna and her friends volunteered for the United Way to fill boxes with soap, tooth brushes, tooth paste, cleaning materials, and other needed hygiene items. The cost of the hygiene items was funded by InterFaith Works Annual Duck Race, a major fundraiser for the organization. After Anna and her friends sold tickets to the Duck Race, InterFaith Works allotted a portion of the proceeds to St. Paul’s, which the girls used to buy the hygiene items they packed in shoe boxes and gave to the United Way for distribution to people who lived in shelters and the homeless.
And speaking of food, Anna remembers volunteering at the Sunnyside Nursing Home where she served ice cream at the Ice Cream Social. “It was fun putting the toppings they wanted on their ice cream and seeing the smiles on their faces when the volunteers sang songs.” (During this time, let me remind you that Anna was only 10 years old.)
An OCCRA bulletin in St. Paul’s Church indicated that they were looking for volunteers to help clean up downtown. It didn’t take long for Anna and her friends to grab brooms and buckets and head to an assigned quadrant of streets and start cleaning. Anna said; “As we were sweeping, shop owners came out and thanked us, and when a DPW truck went by the driver honked the horn and gave us a thumbs-up.” St. Paul’s was also involved with the founding of the Samaritan Center and resulted in many of its members volunteering at the facility, a culture of community service Sue Wright and her daughter Anna feel at home with.
By this time Anna was twelve years old, and she developed a keen awareness of the diversity of people in the area. Her first exposure to that was while volunteering as a counselor at the St. Paul’s Summer Camp. Among the campers were kids from Sudanese families, the children of the ‘Lost Boys of Syracuse.’ This motivated Anna to do even more with people of other faiths. When the InterFaith Works Annual Harmony Assembly was held at a Mosque, the theme was ‘Opening Windows of Understanding’ and Anna gave a speech to the 600 people in attendance. (Can you imagine an 11-year-old doing that?)
Even at her young age, Anna Doughty has witnessed some bad things. She has seen refugee women who had been separated from their families. She saw firsthand, an account of a Sikh, with his traditional turban, harassed by several young men who yelled foul things and that he was ISIS. She read about a black man pulled over because one of his tail lights was broken and the cop yelling at him like crazy.
It was in this climate that Anna has already decided she wants to make a difference and become a Human Rights Lawyer. Her goal is to attend Harvard Law School. If you read this column, do you have any doubt that she will accomplish her goals?
Anna Doughty has been a Girl Scout since kindergarten. She also enjoys playing softball, art work, and writes poetry. Sue and Anna live in Dewitt.
To recommend someone with a stellar record of volunteering to be featured in this column contact Mel Rubenstein: [email protected] or 315-682-7162.
