Our Story

        Hey there! I am Lillian Heitchue, the founder of the Service Squad. This journey started when I was little, participating in volunteering with my family and friends. But the idea of the Service Squad was formed during the Covid-19 pandemic. I have always had an interest in the human mind. When the pandemic started, and life got a bit dimmer, I was curious about how this would impact our mental health. Unfortunately, I saw the effects firsthand. My best friend was diagnosed with depression and anxiety after the lockdown ended, and my own mental wellbeing had seen better days. However, as things started to return to normal, I began to volunteer in my community again. I realized that I felt more relaxed after an event. With some further research, I found that volunteerism kickstarts the reward circuit in our brains. This act releases endorphins that help you feel good about what you have just done! This is the feeling that The Service Squad is founded on. 

             Due to the pandemic many businesses were still closed so volunteer opportunities were still harder to find. Fortunately, I returned to 7th grade as a hybrid student in March 2021. I got a few friends together and asked our counselor to sponsor us. Thus, the first Service Squad was born! Our first project was Positive Post-Its, where we wrote words of encouragement and positive messages on sticky notes to put on lockers around the school! These were a big hit and solidified the Service Squad's presence in our school. As businesses began to open back up, we were able to start doing more. Just by meeting after school for a week, our growing squad made over 120 Christmas cards for seniors in nursing homes. We did this again for Valentines Day and will continue doing so for all future holidays. The Service Squad has been able to raise money for disabled veterans by creating a field of flags, help those in need by giving out clothes donated by Hearts of Humanity at our local church, and so much more in the past couple years. Since I moved on to high school I have had more opportunities to further the Service Squad's mission and I cannot wait to continue spreading a message of hope to the people we reach in the years to come!