A helping hand

If Jilisa Ward is having a bad day, she knows what will cheer her up.

The Central High School senior volunteers at the Boys and Girls Club in Cape Girardeau almost every day after she gets out of school.

"I can come here and these kids make me laugh. They make me happy, and they make me feel less stressed out," Jilisa said Monday afternoon at the club.

Jilisa, 17, and her 18-year-old sister, Kendra, attended the Boys and Girls Club when they were younger. Now both girls want to give back to the place they call their second home.

"Ever since I came here, I've felt comfortable here," Kendra said. "I feel like I belong here."

Jilisa Ward, right, is an after-school volunteer at the Cape Girardeau Boys and Girls Club. Here she helped her sister, Zaria Ward, with an art project.

Sherman Callaway, membership coordinator with the Boys and Girls Club, said the club's staff appreciates the Ward sisters.

"They're quiet but they're hard workers," he said. "Whenever we ask them to do something, they do it immediately."

Callaway said Jilisa and Kendra Ward are among the few high school and college volunteers.

"We can always use volunteers, especially volunteers like Kendra and Jilisa," Callaway said.

On Monday, Jilisa worked on an art project with her 11-year-old sister, Zaria, who attends the club after school.

Jilisa wants to be a positive role model for her younger sister -- especially since she sees what happens when there's not a positive role model in a young person's life.

"I see my peers at school doing things every day that they shouldn't be doing," she said. "I'm trying to show my sister and these other kids that they have someone they can talk to, and someone they can look up to."

Kendra feels the same way as her sister but gains knowledge from the children who attend the club.

"They learn from me and I can learn from them," Kendra said. "Every day I'm learning something new."

The girls plan to volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club for as long as they're able to. Kendra, who graduated from Central High School last year, is currently enrolled in the Semo Hair Styling Academy, and Jilisa has plans to attend Southeast Missouri State University next fall.

"I can still see myself volunteering here after high school," Jilisa said. "These kids brighten up my day, and I hope I'm doing the same for them. If I see them having a bad day, I go talk to them about it and try to cheer them up."

jfreeze@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246