This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Nicole Siwak: Making a Family Tradition Out of Community Activism

Two years ago Nicole Siwak decided to give her children access to helping out as many lives as possible.

Being involved in the community isn’t something Clawson resident Nicole Siwak has always prided herself on. But in the past couple of years she has switched gears and become a community activist with hopes that her children will follow her footsteps.

Two years ago Siwak began to home school her daughter Madison, 10, and her son Max, 7. She said she did this so they would have more time to be involved in the community and work at their own pace. Since then she and her children have tried to keep a busy schedule full of learning and helping others.

One of their biggest tasks is helping out with Clawson Youth Assistance and assisting with events such as Trick or Treat Trail, , and Christmas Caroling.

Find out what's happening in Clawsonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“Every time I do something for Youth Assistance (my kids) are right there with me, I never do it alone,” Siwak said. “I just tell (Mayor Penny Luebs) whatever you’ve got we’ll be there to help.”

Last summer, Siwak started the local group , which is an international program founded by the Jane Goodall Institute that brings kids of all ages together to aid people, animals and the environment.

Find out what's happening in Clawsonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Currently the local club meets at twice a month and volunteers for community service projects each month. There are 12 area children in the group led by Siwak, and she hopes that more kids ages 5 to 18 will start showing interest in community activism.

Roots and Shoots members have played bingo and made crafts for the , made goodie bags and hosted a movie night for the kids at South Oakland Shelter (SOS) and collected items and donations for people during the holidays.

Madison Siwak's favorite part about volunteering is that it makes her feel good to see others happy.

“I liked when we went to the homeless shelter and gave the goodie bags to them because the kids were really happy,” Madison Siwak said.

Max Siwak said he likes helping the animals. Nicole Siwak has become very passionate about saving the lives of animals and making sure they are treated properly. She is now trying to curb her family’s eating habits by trending toward a vegetarian diet as well.

“I think parents need to get their kids more involved, they get really excited about it,” Nicole Siwak said. “Sports has taken such a priority over kids getting involved in community and volunteering that I just think it’s kind of sad.”

Clawson Patch wants to feature more great volunteers in the community. We could use your help in searching for those philanthropic folk. We’re not looking for Hercules or Superman; we’re more interested in hometown heroes. If you have a volunteer in mind, e-mail Local Editor Nicquel Terry at nicquel.terry@patch.com.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?