Giving by nature

Mary A. Castillo

When Laguna Beach High School student Michael Codini, 17, looks

back at what he did last summer, his memories aren’t just of days

spent at the beach or hanging out at the movies. With members of the

Interact Club, Michael brought supplies for Casa de Hogar, an

orphanage in Mexico.

His eyes were opened to a level of poverty he had never seen

before: families living in structures as small as 2-by-2-foot square

or people without the money to buy seeds to plant vegetable gardens.

“I came back and just realized how blessed we are and how wealthy

this community is,” he said. “Most the world isn’t like that and we

can’t ignore it.”

The experience in Mexico just added more fuel to the fire behind

Michael’s volunteerism. According to Chris Krach, community service

coordinator at the high school, he’s already invested 500-plus

volunteer hours.

“He’s just one of our best volunteers,” she said. “He volunteered

at the Grand Prix this weekend and stayed till the very end. He’s

just that kind of person.”

The summer before his freshman year, Michael began devoting his

time at the sub-acute care unit at South Coast Medical Center. The

unit cares for patients who are dependent on ventilators or

tube-feeding on a long-term basis. Not wanting to be stuck filing, he

chose this unit so he could work one-on-one with patients by reading

or talking to them.

“The director was really friendly and taught me how to talk to

them,” he said. “She made that transition pretty easy.”

Michael also serves as president of the board of student

volunteers. Last month the board held a volleyball challenge to raise

funds for the new cancer center.

“Most of the participants were volunteers,” he said. “We know what

we have to do next year to make it more successful.”

He chose to get involved in the community based on his mother’s

example. He credits her for showing him the importance of not only

giving monetarily but also of one’s time.

Somehow Michael manages to uphold his responsibilities at the

hospital as well as his duties as vice president of the high school’s

Interact Club and as a member of the Model United Nations. He also

plays the tenor and bass saxophone with the marching band and is an

honors student. So how does he handle it and manage to have a life?

“I’m not as busy as some people,” he said with a shrug. “I guess I

just do it.”

* MARY A. CASTILLO is a news assistant for the Coastline Pilot.

She covers education, public safety and City Hall.