Making an Impact: May Service Spotlight

For our last Service Spotlight of the school year, we’re highlighting two upper schoolers who fulfilled their graduation requirement by volunteering with organizations that were particularly meaningful to them.

Blake ’27 earned his service hours—and started a nonprofit in the process—by working with Judi’s House, which provides care to grieving children and families who have lost loved ones. For Isabella ’26, who dreams of becoming a pediatric surgeon, she found her place at Children’s Hospital Colorado, playing with patients and brightening their days through song. Read more about each of their service experiences below.

For junior Blake, the choice was simple when it came to picking where to volunteer. He wanted to support an organization that he could have used when he was younger.

“I decided to help with Judi’s House after my grandmother tragically passed away, and I realized that there are many other kids who are going through a similar struggle,” he said. “I felt lots of pain when my grandmother died, and I want to help other kids who feel that same deal of hurt.”

Blake began volunteering at the facility two years ago, writing cards and planting flowers to beautify the space, but he wanted to do something that would have an even bigger impact on the organization. So he started a baking business called Blake’s Bakery to make and sell cookies around the Denver area, with all proceeds going to Judi’s House. In just one summer, he raised more than $1,000.

“I want to help these kids’ lives, and I just want to make sure that they feel supported and that Judi’s House can provide help for as many people as possible.”

Senior Isabella has also seen the impact that volunteering has on kids and families. Ever since she was little, she knew she wanted to be a doctor who works with children. That made Children’s Hospital Colorado an easy choice for her to earn her service hours.

“There's this huge feeling of gratification every time I go,” Isabella explained. “Obviously, it's really hard to see these kids go through it, but just knowing that I made their day a little bit better always makes me really happy at the end of the day.”

From playing with patients or siblings waiting during a procedure to putting her Cinderella musical experience to use singing over the Seacrest Studios airwaves, Isabella earned nearly 100 hours volunteering at Children’s—above and beyond the 40 hours she needed as a transfer student who came to Kent Denver her junior year.

“I felt like 40 hours was just too short,” said Isabella, who earned 135 total service hours in just two years. “Once I hit 40, I wanted to keep on doing it, and so I set myself the goal of doing 100 hours just with Children’s.”

She’s at 94 hours right now and plans to use her gap semester before starting at Boston University in January to hit that 100-hour mark. When it comes to volunteering, Isabella says the organization is key.

“Choose something that you’re passionate about,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be related to what you want to do in the future, just as long as you like what you’re doing. It makes it fun.”