DEVELOPING COMMUNITY
AMBASSADORS
W
By Lisa Habermehl, Director of Marketing & Special Projects, Duvall Homes, Inc.
e raise our children to be polite, to play safe When elementary age students discover the needs of
and fair, to practice good hygiene, to finish people in their own neighborhood, and learn how they
their vegetables…and to do many other can help, it stays with them forever and can create life-
things. Well, there is another subject matter parents
and teachers impress upon children that can make a
positive impact on their future. Introducing the priceless
value of community service to children, at a young age,
helps develop caring adults with an understanding of
the many areas in need of support that surround them.
long ambassadors of their community.
“The first time I remember helping my community was
when I was eight years old. I helped clean up debris
in the neighborhood after a hurricane,” said Dante
Picchiello, a junior at Father Lopez High School. Since
Dante Picchiello (right), a high school junior
from Father Lopez Catholic High School,
paints picnic tables with his classmates at
Duvall Homes, a nonprofit organization in
Volusia County that provides residential
supportive care and day training for people
with Down syndrome, autism and other
developmental disabilities.
8 | S T. J O H N S parent M A G A Z I N E