Sophomore is the youngest member on the board of the Village Food Pantry

On the second Wednesday of January, sophomore Tyler German drove anxiously down Mission Road. He was headed to a room full of adults, about to sit for an hour and say a prayer, discuss the past years, and look at statistics.

On any other Wednesday evening, Tyler would be finishing up his chemistry homework or socializing  at his church’s bible study. But tonight Germann would begin his involvement with the Village Church Food Pantry and Clothes Closet for the next three years.

Tyler is on the board of the Village Food Pantry of Village Presbyterian Church, which distributes food, clothing, and personal items to those in need. As the sole youth representative, Tyler gives his input at the once-a-month board meetings and works on involving more volunteers, especially students from East.

“We’re trying to set up a way for the school to do a food drive,” Tyler said. “Then through SHARE, have the people who volunteer to work at the food pantry bring all the food in and sort it.”

A big part of Tyler’s job is organizing more than 200 volunteers to run the food pantry. Along with other members of the board, Tyler helps ease the stress of the director and the full time staff. Schedules are made to get a grasp of how many volunteers they have, how many more they need and who needs to be trained.

Tyler has always loved volunteer work. His mother Kristen Germann saw the sense of service he has today instilled in him while he was in Boy Scouts. Aware of his social personality and natural desire to help others, she was thrilled to hear of his newest project.

“I was very proud that he was willing to take on a three year challenge and that he was so excited about it,” Kristen said.

After Boy Scouts, he continued service through church and Yes Club at Mission Valley. But during a mission trip to Chicago in the summer before his freshmen year, that love became a passion. He and other high schoolers from his youth group spent five days working at various organizations. From a soup kitchen to a home for the mentally retarded, Tyler was reminded of all the people that have it much worse than him, and the many ways he can help them.

“Even the smallest things like somebody to talk to or maybe a new shirt to go to a job interview in can change somebody’s life.” Tyler said.

Since Chicago Tyler has continued volunteering in and out of his youth group. He helped a baseball league for kids in downtown Kansas City, MO clean and organize an equipment closet, and has worked with his mom at Harvesters. This summer he hopes to get a volunteer job at Children’s Mercy Hospital, talking and reading to kids. Through all the community service he plans do to in the next three years, he’ll still be involved closely with the food pantry.

Before Tyler, junior Joe Sernett was the first young face to appear at the food pantry’s board meetings. When a friend of his grandparents suggested him to the board, Sernett couldn’t decline an offer from the major contributor to his Presidential Service Award, which requires at least 100 hours of volunteer work.

“It actually ended up being kinda fun,” Sernett said. “It kinda taught me a little bit more about maturity, and when I need college recommendations I have a whole board full of people that I know well.”

After two years of helping the Village Food Pantry, Sernett retired from the youth representative position. Tyler heard about the opening in December at his church’s youth group, and was intrigued by seeing the business side of volunteering, learning something new and giving back to his community in a new way.

“I thought it’d be a great experience to be a part of something that impacts so many lives and helps so many people around the area.” Tyler said.

In the next three years on the Village Food Pantry board, Tyler is excited to invest his time in it and see it grow. He sees himself leaving the position as a better person.

“By the time three years are over,” Tyler said, “I’ll have a great point-of-view on people’s lives and what they’ve gone through.”