Starting a worthy life at a young age

Some people hone their volunteer instincts early—like 17-year-old Patchogue-Medford High School senior, Emily Volpe.

“I was probably 9 when first I started,” said the young Medford resident.  “I did bake sales for the Ecology Center and loved doing it.”

Mom Janay wrote that Emily organized two Polar Plunges to benefit New York Special Olympics. She’s been doing that for six years now and helped raise $10,000.

“It takes place at Splish Splash in April every year,” Emily said. “I’m not the person who directly organizes the event; I’m one of the top fundraisers. But when Special Olympics announces the date, my mom and I post it all over the place on Facebook.”

It takes a special person to organize multiple food drives, towels, and blankets for Almost Home Animal Rescue and Adoption Center in Medford. She also cleans up after the animals.

It’s a compassionate activity, but not one that everyone chooses.

“I personally feel that animals don’t get much attention, and I feel they deserve as much attention as humans do,” she said. “We grew up with animals and have ducks in the yard.” Also, a dog named Hunter.

Her bunny, named Belly, short for Belinda, is a rescue from Almost Home.

Not surprisingly, Volpe is leaning towards veterinary medicine. “I’m applying to a few schools to see where I end up, but there’s no preference. I was offered a full ride from LIU, got accepted at Stony Brook University, applied to Union College, Northeastern, Harvard, Columbia and UPenn.”

In her quest to help animals, she would also pitch in on drives, collecting newspapers for their cages along with food. She got Newsday to drop off unused newspapers at the Brookhaven Animal Shelter and Adoption Center, saving them money.

She picks up supplies from donors all over Suffolk County.

“We would go all over the island and I asked my mom, ‘Did they contact Newsday?’ They have leftovers every week, and then I called and they said yes. It was this year.”

When Debbie Loesch, founder of the nonprofit Angels of Long Island—a thrift shop which often provides free clothing, food, and baby supplies to low-income families—  was robbed, Emily started a GoFundMe account. The robbery took place on Oct 1, when $1,600 marked for rent and staff salaries was taken. Emily doesn’t know Loesch personally, but her plight just hit her.

“I always see her on Facebook, posting and helping other people, and she always donates to our high school musicals. When I saw the robbery thing, it got a lot more attention than I thought. It raised about $7,000. I was also sewing candy bar boxes for the fundraiser.”

There’s more—like Brookhaven Town cleanups, volunteering for the Red Cross, National Honor Society, National English Society, the Spanish Honor Society and Patchogue-Medford Hall of Fame all through high school.

Her family is close, with mom Janay, dad Rich, and an older brother who is a financial advisor.

She does have other interests. “I’m very involved with music,” she said. “I play viola, piano and guitar, and fiddle around with a few others.

“I’m also a big concert person. I like stadium concerts like Green Day and Panic! At The Disco. I love the energy of the crowd, and everyone is enjoying themselves.”

She added a humorous thought. “Except for the few parents that got dragged there.”