Caroline Mills, 17, Groton, volunteers her time to help out her community. “I love being intimately involved in the place where I live; broadening my horizons and knowing that I can make a difference,” she says.

story & photo
by Maren Schober

Caroline Mills, 17, Groton, strides  into the school office smiling and energized.  A senior at Williams School in New London, Caroline exuberates love, joy and a maturity beyond her years.  She is focused and has a good idea where she wants to go in life.  What is behind this ball of energy?  Service to others.

“My volunteer work in the community started when I was in the fifth grade,” Caroline explains. “My first community service project was called ‘Pinz 4 Kidz.’ I made decorative jewelry pins out of safety pins and beads, and all the proceeds benefitted the Pediatric Ward at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital.  With the money I was able to buy two or three VCR’s for the children’s rooms, and six Leap Pad Learning Toys for the outpatient waiting room.”

What inspired Caroline to volunteer? “I learned the concept of service and giving from my parents.  They taught my siblings and me to love our neighbors: the foundation of Catholic values.  They also taught us the value of ecology and the need to preserve and protect the environment.”

The Mystic Seaport,  L&M Hospital, Pequot Emergency Room and Sacred Heart Church all benefit from Caroline’s volunteer work with them. “I call Mystic Seaport my second home.  I was a junior volunteer there since I was 12. I started out cutting fudge in the Gift Shop every Friday while I was homeschooled.  I volunteered with the Children’s Museum Summer Program.  During the summer I would also be on call for special events such as the Antique Car Show.  I also participated in the Nautical Nightmares Event  for three years.  I was a “spirit” that scared people on tours.  It was an awesome experience.”

Nowadays Caroline is involved in a variety of service to Williams School and the wider community. “I am a Senior Leader of the Service Committee at Williams School.  It is my main focus.  Along with others we oversee the community service projects for the whole school. On Hungry Country Lunch Day we educate the whole school about hunger in the world.  Earth Day is another huge day at the school, where we get panelists from the area to talk about different ecological topics and we ask them questions.  Then in the afternoon we visit different sites in the area and volunteer.  This is a day we can give back to our community.”

What does Caroline want our readers to know about community service work? “It’s not hard!  I love being intimately involved in the place where I live; broadening my horizons and knowing that I can make a difference. It makes me really grateful and aware of what I have and want to make other people’s lives better.  I know that I want to pursue a life of service.”

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