DRIVEN TO SERVE

High school senior earns award for volunteering

By Ellen Donker

Gardiner's service trip to Los Angeles propelled him to volunteer even more.

Findley Gardiner has volunteered at food pantries and soup kitchens since he was 11.

So when he went on a service trip to Los Angeles in June 2024 with other boys at his high school, St. Peter’s Prep, he thought he knew the drill. He didn’t expect the experience to change how he viewed his ability to help others. “I was just excited that we get to go to L.A. and just be together and have fun with all my friends from school,” he says. “But I didn’t really know what I was getting into when I went.”

He and his classmates worked at a food pantry in the Skid Row neighborhood where they witnessed widespread poverty. Many people were homeless and hungry. He found it eye-opening. “When you go somewhere and you’re interacting with that every day, like, the whole day, for a week, you’re like, ‘Wow, this is actually somebody’s life. They’re experiencing this right now.’ I was shocked a little bit, but I was also like, man, … I’m feeding these people, and I’m helping these people.”

Gardiner started volunteering when he was 11.

That experience during his sophomore year propelled him to volunteer as often as he could “to just help as many people as possible,” he says. On Oct. 23, Gardiner, now a senior, was honored with the Daily Point of Light Award in recognition of his many hours of effective volunteerism.

Given by Points of Light, an organization founded 35 years ago by President George H.W. Bush, it encourages civic engagement and celebrates the actions of individuals making a positive change through exceptional volunteer efforts. Gardiner found most of his opportunities through Jersey Cares, an organization that has resources to help engage youth in volunteer and service-learning programs. Its volunteer opportunity calendar makes it easy to scan and sign up for projects.

During his junior year, Gardiner volunteered at least twice a week, plus both weekend days. Over the summer, he served four to five times a week. He concentrated most of his efforts working at food pantries. He says his two favorite places for volunteering are the Helping Hands Food Pantry at the Greater New Point Missionary Baptist Church in Irvington and the Aldersgate Outreach Community Center in East Brunswick.

By this spring, just weeks before his 17th birthday, Gardiner became a project coordinator with Jersey Cares, one of the youngest to date. The job involves overseeing volunteers at a site by helping the operation to work smoothly, making sure volunteers know what to do, taking attendance and reporting problems.

Gardiner’s parents have been the backbone of his efforts, driving him to many of the volunteering locations before he had his license. “I credit a lot of my volunteering success, I guess you could say, to my mom,” says Gardiner. “She actually found out about [the Daily Point of Light Award], so I just applied and they interviewed me.”

St. Peter’s Prep deserves some credit, too, as the school is guided by its Jesuit roots and teaches the importance of service. Students are required to complete 60 hours to graduate. Gardiner nailed that with his service trip to Los Angeles. Gardiner was the 8,184th person to receive the Daily Point of Light Award. He says, “I’ve been telling myself there’s over 330 million people [in the U.S.] and only 8,000 awards, so I’ll take it.”

Gardiner continues to volunteer through Jersey Cares but had to take a break to finish up college applications. Although his main essay was about his pursuit of drumming and basketball, his supplemental essay centered on his service trip to Los Angeles. When Gardiner gets to college, he says he will volunteer with whatever local programs are nearby. He says, “There’s obviously plenty of work to be done.”

---

Ellen Donker was inspired by Findley's dedication to help others alongside his busy schedule.