Karla Olson formed the Park City chapter of Lion’s Heart, a countrywide organization that champions teen volunteering for national and local nonprofits, in 2016. A decade later, the spirit of service runs strong with a new group of eighth graders who all joined in 2023. Those youths are Kea gan Fleming, Will Carollo and Stryder Marzka, who took time, along with Dawn Pencil, the chapter’s parent class coordinator, to talk with The Park Record. Marzka, who is Pencil’s son, wanted to join Lion’s Heart because of his older brother, Bodi, who was one of the chapter’s founding students. “I watched my brother do it when I was probably in kindergarten,” Marzka said. “I watched him and all of his friends do different activities and different places, and I thought that was pretty cool.” Fleming joined because of Marzka and Carollo. “Since they were doing it, I thought I might as well because it might be fun,” he said. Carollo concurred. “I thought it would also be fun to do group projects with my two best friends and help people,” he said. The fun turned into meaningful projects the three will remember for the rest of their lives.  “We did a project at an assisted-living facility on Valentine’s Day,” Marzka said. “We gave out cookies and wrote letters and cards to those who may have lost loved ones.” Carollo also enjoyed that project. “It was fun to see them smiling and hear them tell us stories,” he said. Pencil, who had volunteered at an assisted-living facility in her youth, helped ease the boys into that project. “I tried to make sure they interacted with the people because I know it’s hard to interact with people you don’t know,” she said. “So, I gave them a list of prompts on a kind of bingo card to make sure they interacted.” One of Fleming’s favorite projects was at the Christian Center of Park City’s food pantry. “We went to the Park City location two weeks ago and helped out by stocking the shelves,” he said. Other projects included making cookies for firefighters and soliciting toy donations for Santa Flight, which provides toys to kids during the holiday season. “I think one of the things that is unique about Lion’s Heart is that the boys drive the mission,” Pencil said. “They decide what causes they are going to support, even if it’s just a random act of kindness.”  One act of kindness the three boys did was inspired by their family members, according to Pencil. “Keagan’s grandmother, Will’s mother’s grandmother and Stryder’s great-grandmother had breast cancer,” she said. “So, last October, they decided to host a pink lemonade stand, where they passed out free lemonade — they didn’t ask for donations — to raise awareness of Breast Cancer Month,” she said.  The boys hold monthly meetings to decide their projects. “We will make a plan with what we want to do,” Marzka said. “Then Will or my mom will reach out to places like Nuzzles Co. to see what’s possible and if there is anything we can do for them.” Agreeing on a project can prove challenging, Fleming said. “There are so many ideas that we sometimes have trouble deciding what to do,” he said. Usually a decision is made by using Robert’s Rules of Order, the standard guide designed to help organizations conduct efficient, fair and orderly business meetings, Pencil said. “They will bring up a topic for approval, have a discussion, make a motion, have a second discussion and vote,” she said. The boys approach each decided project seriously. “I feel responsible for doing things right and having ideas to do something good,” Carollo said. Marzka agreed. “I try to respect the name of Lion’s Heart,” he said. “Because the importance of volunteering is about helping people out who are in need of our help and seeing what it does for people.” Since 2016, the Park City Chapter of Lion’s Heart has racked up more than 12,500 volunteer hours, and the organization is currently recruiting new members. “We accept rising sixth graders through rising seniors,” Pencil said. “You can join as an individual member, but you can also join as a group or someone who wants to join a group.” Registration is open at lionsheartservice.org. When people register with a group, a parent class coordinator is required, Pencil said.  “Coordinators need to go through background checks, and once they are approved, they will be notified of individuals who join and want to be part of the group,” she said. A one-time sign up fee for $179, which is tax deductible is required at registration, and then annual dues each year afterward is $110, Pencil said. “We never want people to feel they can’t join due to financial reasons, so we have scholarships,” she said. “You can apply for those on the website, and those scholarships are not given through the local chapters. They are given through the main organization.” All Lion’s Heart members are required to volunteer a minimum of 25 hours a year, and that is based on when they joined, Pencil said. “So if you join June 1, you have until June 1 next year to fulfill that requirement,” she said. Pencil, who began working with Lion’s Heart when the Park City chapter was established, enjoys working with the youths.  “I love getting them and me out in the community,” she said. “I think service is an important part of life. I think that’s why we’re here.” For information about Lion’s Heart, visit lionsheartservice.org. 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