TEEN-AGER SHARES HIS ENTHUSIASM AND HUMOR IN VOLUNTEER EFFORTS

When the school day ends for Dusty McDowell, his work is just beginning.

McDowell, a student at Central Junior High School, has volunteered hundreds of hours after school and in the summer for the American Red Cross.

Since July 1995, he has worked 500 hours of volunteer service.

"Dusty McDowell rushes in our door after school, bubbling with joy and enthusiasm, anxiously anticipating his next assignment," said Mary Burton with the Red Cross.

In the summer, while other kids are playing video games or searching for a game of ball, Dusty spends his time at the Red Cross office.

"It's not like we give him glamorous jobs," Burton said. "We ask him to do things like empty the trash or seal envelopes. It is really out of the kindness of his heart that he helps us."

Dusty is kind of a quiet kid. He quietly goes about his jobs every day. But he has a sense of humor and enthusiasm that is contagious.

"It gives you a real uplifting feeling about our youth," said Burton.

As Burton was singing his praises and thanking him for all the work he does, Dusty surprised her with a card.

"He handed me a thank you card he made on the computer thanking me for giving him this opportunity," Burton said.

In addition to his work with the Red Cross, Dusty is involved with the Central Junior High School yearbook as sports editor.

"He has stayed after school every day for two years in order to produce yearbook pages," said Barb Randolph, who teaches English and French. "Dusty's dependability has given me security because I know he will follow through with his extra duties."

In addition, Randolph said, Dusty has done his work with "a super attitude, cracking jokes during deadline pressure days where laughter was just what the morale of the staff needed."

He is also a member of Boy Scout Troop 5 and is working toward his Eagle Scout award.