Teenager Finds Satisfaction in Volunteerism

The West Valley Food Pantry is bustling this afternoon, with volunteers standing at a long counter, separating the heaps of donated bagels from the hot dogs, an obvious food mismatch.

Nearby, a woman sits at one end of a long table sifting through paperwork, while another stands at the opposite end, filling a bag with cereal, soup, a macaroni-and-cheese meal and other staples.

After the bag is stuffed with enough food to last a couple of days, the volunteer tosses in a small bottle of shampoo and hands the package to a homeless man who waits patiently just inside the kitchen door.

Striving to stay out of everyone’s way, Scott DeSimone slips into the storage closet off the white-tiled kitchen and peruses shelves bulging with a variety of canned fruits, corn, rice, beans and spaghetti.

“Working here is satisfying,” the slender 18-year-old volunteer said. “I like to be part of a community effort that helps people who are down on their luck. I feel like I’m fulfilling a purpose.”

Although his manner is quiet and self-deprecating, DeSimone, a Chatsworth High School senior, has played an important role in helping the approximately 550 needy families who rely on the Woodland Hills organization to augment their monthly food purchases.

Arriving after school on those weekdays when he’s not busy at his part-time job at a local pizza parlor, the honor student helps sort and package heavy cans of food, which he carries to a shed for short-term storage. The supplies, he says, aren’t around for long.

DeSimone became involved with the community-service organization through Prince of Peace Episcopal Church, of which he and his family are members. The church houses the pantry, which hands out crates of food and a variety of baby supplies to as many as 45 families in a single day.

Established in 1985 by the Prince of Peace Church and a coalition of nine other West Valley churches and synagogues, the pantry collects food from regional food banks, religious congregations, local markets and community organizations, then distributes it from the church kitchen five days a week.

“We always need workers around here, and Scott’s service has made a big difference,” said Jeanne Bain, the pantry’s supervisor. “Whatever we ask, he does. He’s eager to help.”

DeSimone’s community service efforts extend beyond the food pantry. Last summer he walked 7 1/2 miles through Encino’s Balboa Park to help raise funds for the March of Dimes.

A member of his school’s Octagon Club, which matches student volunteers with community-service projects, DeSimone donned a costume for last fall’s Halloween festival at Mason Park in Chatsworth, where he ran a game booth and entertained kids.

He also helped coordinate one of the athletic events at the recent Braille Institute-Optimist Club’s Track-and Field Olympics held at the institute’s Youth Center near Universal City.

Honored last winter with a Northridge Fashion Center/Los Angeles Times/Daily News Share the Care award for volunteerism, Scott says he looks forward to finding new challenges when he heads for UC Riverside in the fall.

“Scott, in his own quiet, unassuming way, makes a strong contribution to society,” said Lynn Icoma, his physiology teacher. “He’s shy, but expresses himself through his kindness to others.”

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