Volunteering brings new perspective for Summerlin families

Rosemarie Clock and her husband, Kristofer, have three children and had always talked of seeing them involved in volunteer work.

In early March, Rosemarie and daughter Kylee, 14, began volunteering at Three Square, going twice a week for at least two hours each time.

“We wanted to get them out there and see what it’s like to help other people and not be the type of person entitled,” Rosemarie said. “I liked Three Square because you can be as young as 10 as long as your parent is with you. We thought, ‘We’ll see how it goes.’”

It went well. They set up a commitment schedule, good for a busy family already involved in school activities and taekwondo. At Three Square’s warehouse, the pair do everything from sorting food to making up packages of nonperishable items for youngsters to have on the weekends when there are no school meals.

“It goes by fast,” Rosemarie said. “You’re always meeting fun people and talking as you work.”

She said volunteering with Kylee lets her see a different side to her daughter, that she’s not the child at home who has to be reminded to pick up her room or make her bed. She hopes volunteering reinforces her daughter’s work ethic and sense of responsibility. She also likes having time to spend alone with her only daughter.

“I think since it’s just the two of us, it brings us a little closer, even while it’s helping her be a little more independent,” Rosemarie said, then choked up. “It shows you a different side to your kids. You see that they are able to do things on their own, that maybe they don’t need mom so much.”

As for Kylee, she said she had only a rudimentary understanding of what Three Square did before this. She thought she’d be passing out food to individuals. Instead, she saw just what a large operation it was and how encompassing its mission. Kylee said volunteering has helped her get over feeling awkward around new people and that she looks forward to going. Her favorite part is boxing the bread.

How is it changing her perspective?

“You really see that you’re making a difference. … I don’t go to places where people need this, so I never realized before just how much need there is for this. Then I started going there (to Three Square’s operation) and went, ‘Whoa, there are a lot of people who need help, a lot of people depend on this,’” Kylee said.

Mom and Dad will be proud — Kylee said she’d like to continue volunteering throughout her life, not just when she’s required to do it for school.

Paula Squitieri is a single mom to Samantha, her only child.

Why did they want to start volunteering together?

“I always felt it was important to teach her some kind of philanthropy,” Paula Squitieri said. “To expose her early to the concept of giving back. I wanted to steer her to that course so it would become embedded in her as a core principle so that, as she went forward, that’s how she would live.”

Samantha was in sixth grade when they learned Giovanna Raccosta, a good friend, was establishing Dinner on Us, which uses themes to not just feed the homeless at the Las Vegas Rescue Mission, but to make it a party atmosphere. The pair went and soon found themselves filling plates with home-cooked foods.

What did she notice about her daughter’s reaction to helping those less fortunate?

“She was happy to be helpful,” Paula Squitieri said, “and we had conversations afterward, like, ‘Where do these people live, Mom?’ and ‘Why are they here?’ ‘What does it mean to be homeless?’ That’s when those conversations started to happen. When she said she wanted to go back, I knew the ‘hook’ was in.”

After that, they found other volunteer activities through the National Charity League which has a mother-daughter component and have helped Catholic Charities, the Blind Center, Miracle League, Spread the Word Nevada and Noah’s House at Shade Tree.

“It’s been helpful, especially in the teen years when she’d rather be with friends. She never fights me when it comes to doing the NCL. She looks forward to it and we go have lunch after or something like that, so it’s been two-fold that we get to help people but it’s also a bonding experience for us,” Squitieri said.

Sometimes, it’s a husband and wife who volunteer together.

Michele and Graeme Williams came to Summerlin from Boston about a year ago. Before the move, they volunteered for food pantries and soup kitchens. Here, they open their home, fostering dogs rescued by Foreclosed Upon Pets, Inc., or FUPI.

“In the Northeast, and in Massachusetts, there are no-kill shelters,” Michele said. “We found that’s not the case here.”

They learned of FUPI and jumped in to help within a month of arriving here, beginning with fostering Coco, a miniature pinscher only a few months old and a mere five pounds. She was fostered for months before finally being adopted. The reality of surrendering the cute pooch hit Michele hard.

“I get over it in a few days where, for her, it takes a week or two,” Graeme said. “… We have to look the larger pictures that these dogs are going to good homes.”

To date, they’ve fostered six canines.

Graeme still works while Michele is retired, so they share duties: walking the dogs, taking them to get veterinary care, acting as an emergency placement family for dogs who suddenly come into the FUPI system, and are often at the Petsmart, 9775 W. Charleston Boulevard in Summerlin on weekends where dogs are on display, hoping to catch the eye of potential owners.

When a new dog comes to them, they said, they’ve learned that excessive walks — as many as five a day — help work off the pooch’s anxiety so that they settle in faster.

Not all of the pooches come with the best manners, however. Star and Jacques, both Lhasa apso mixes, whose owner was in failing health and often left them in his backyard. By the time the owner moved into hospice and the dogs came to the Williams home, they were, apparently, confused that the inside didn’t qualify as a potty area.

“All I can say is by sheer happenstance we bought a house that was all tile,” Michele said.

The couple have their hands full at dinnertime, when they have to keep the dogs separate.

What would they say is important before volunteering as a team?

“It’s important that both people buy in,” Michele said. “One can be the champion, but the other has to be (onboard).”

To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.