April 1, 2004

Volunteer of the Week: Sam Manoucheri

Since he was in fifth grade, Sam Manoucheri has felt a desire to help those less fortunate than him.

“I remember driving by the Santa Clara Children’s Shelter when I was in fifth grade and asking my mom what it was. After learning about it, I decided I wanted to try and make a difference,” says Manoucheri.

Every year since then, Manoucheri participates in the shelter’s Operation Santa program, and through Manoucheri’s and other volunteers’ efforts, the children at the shelter are able to open gifts on Christmas.

He goes to nearby banks and puts up gift trees with a nametag for each child at the shelter. The tags are taken by people in the community and placed on a gift they purchase for that child.

Manoucheri then collects the gifts and delivers them to the shelter.
In his first year, he helped collect about 500 gifts for Operation Santa, and has continued to participate in each year since.
Manoucheri also donates to the Ronald McDonald House in Palo Alto, which is a year-round effort. This particular shelter keeps a closet full of gifts on hand for children having a bad day. Sam writes letters to large corporations and goes door to door asking for donations for the children at the Ronald McDonald House.

The Ronald McDonald house provides a home away from home for critically ill children and their families. The children are usually receiving medical treatment from the Lucille Salter Packard Children’s Hospital.
“I just started thinking about what it would be like for me to be in that kind of position. I would want people to help me, and I hope people would do the same things I do for these children,” says Manoucheri.
He has also raised money for other nonprofit organizations. He raised money for the Red Cross after 9-11 and for the fire victims in Southern California.

“My friends and I made pins after 9-11 and sold them in support of the families of the victims, and we raised about $1,500.”

He also worked with UNICEF after the earthquake in Iran. “I wasn’t as serious about this when I first started, but now I take it a little more seriously. I really enjoy want I’m doing. It’s been a great experience, not only does it make me feel good, I think it makes other people feel good too,” says Manoucheri.

The 16-year-old Pioneer High School sophomore seems to have boundless energy for volunteering. He says that he has no idea how many hours he has volunteered. “Most of my time volunteering comes around the winter for the Santa Clara Children’s Shelter, and the summer with the Ronald McDonald House.”

“We really appreciate him,” said Donna Ruiz, administrative assistant at the Santa Clara Children’s Shelter and Coordinator of Operation Santa. “He has a very service oriented heart and comes from a great family.”
Manoucheri will be allowed to volunteer onsite at the Ronald McDonald House next year. “It’s going to be a whole new experience. I am really excited to see what it is like to volunteer,” he says.

“It makes me sad to hear about kids that have no parents, or are terminally ill or have been abused,” said Manoucheri. “I think that it’s sad because they’re so young. I think that what I’m doing for these kids is really making a difference and I’m going to keep doing it.”

—By Miranda Schultz