This is part of The Daily Herald’s annual report on charity in Snohomish County. Complete list of stories
MARYSVILLE — Cheerleaders in training gather around Cassandra “Cassie” Kunselman. It’s not quite football season, but the girls are eager to practice cheers the 15-year-old taught them.
With laughter and energy in their voices, the kids shout out a cheer: “We wanna hot dog, we wanna Coke, we wanna touchdown, that’s no joke.”
Alawna Schweitzberger, 11, and 7-year-olds Amaya Villalobo and Jaelyn Fox are getting ready to cheer this fall in support of Marysville Youth Football League players.
Cassie, a sophomore at Marysville Getchell International School of Communications, is a volunteer cheer coach with the Marysville Junior Cheerleading Association. Helping younger girls learn to cheer is a fun way to spend a balmy summer evening in Marysville’s Jennings Memorial Park.
The teen’s volunteer hours may also help her to once again earn a Varsity Letter in Community Service. Cassie was one of more than 80 Snohomish County high school students recognized this past school year with a varsity letter for volunteerism.
For generations a symbol of achievement for student athletes, a varsity letter can now be a badge of honor designating a teen with a heart for helping others.
United Way of Snohomish County and local school districts work in partnership so that students can earn a Varsity Letter in Community Service. The program was launched locally in 2012, and is underway nationwide through other United Way organizations.
To earn a the varsity letter, students are required to complete at least 145 hours of qualified volunteer work and meet other criteria, including maintaining a 2.0 grade point average or better. The hours can’t include time spent on classwork or other graduation requirements.
For Cassie and others working toward next year’s letter, hours must be completed between April 1, 2016, and March 31, 2017. An application fee of $15 helps cover costs for the cloth letters and award packets, but students may contact United Way if they can’t afford the fee. Donors are welcome to sponsor one or more student letters.
Danielle Kunselman, Cassie’s mom, said her daughter has been doing volunteer work since fourth grade. “I’m just the taxi driver,” said Danielle Kunselman, who was at the park to watch cheerleading practice.
Codi Villalobos, Amaya’s mom, is vice president of the Marysville Junior Cheerleading Association and a cheer coach. More than 80 girls, ages 5 to 13, are involved in the program, she said.
Through her volunteer work, Cassie Kunselman has also been awarded a President’s Volunteer Service Award, a national recognition of volunteerism, for five years running.
“I mostly volunteer with kids,” she said. “I love connecting with them, and seeing the smiles on their faces.”
Cassie Kunselman said her hours as a volunteer cheer coach will count toward a varsity letter. So too will her service with children through the annual Lake Stevens Aquafest. In 2015, she served as an Aquafest community service queen, and this year she’s an Aquafest junior ambassador.
“It’s a community service pageant. That’s part of everything we do — speaking in front of people, giving back to the community, working with kids — all year around,” she said.
With Aquafest, Cassie said she participated in a “reading with royalty” program at Marysville elementary schools. She picked potatoes to help a homeless shelter, and gathered school supplies for a Volunteers of America program to give backpacks to students in need.
Chris Fox, Jaelyn’s mother, said her daughter “sticks with cheerleading because of Cassie — she loves Cassie.”
“And now Jaelyn is interested in volunteer work,” Fox said.
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.
How to letter in community service
United Way of Snohomish County and area school districts team up to recognize high school students with a Varsity Letter in Community Service. To earn the letter, students must complete 145 volunteer hours in a calendar year and meet other criteria. Volunteer activities must be verifiable. Students must have at least a 2.0 grade point average.
A $15 application fee helps cover costs for the patches and award packets. Those unable to pay may contact Jessica at 425-374-5530 or jessica.gaitan@uwsc.org.
To sponsor a student, send a check, payable to United Way of Snohomish County, to 3120 McDougall Ave. Ste. 200, Everett, WA 98201, Attn: Varsity Letter.
Information: www.uwsc.org/varsityletter
United Way of Snohomish County recognized the following students with a Varsity Letter in Community Service this year:
Saara Alyssa Abdalkhani, Henry M. Jackson High School
Jaclyn Marie Amrine, Snohomish High School
Isabel Grace Jarns Anderson, Snohomish High School
Jessamine Anderson, Snohomish High School
Alexandra Ash, Sky Valley Education Center
Dylan Ash, Sky Valley Education Center
Jeremy Ash, Sky Valley Education Center
Riley Alan Bennett, Snohomish High School
Amber Blackwood, Lakewood High School
Corrine Booth, Sky Valley Education Center
Lydia Ann Borstad, Sky Valley Education Center
Taya Leanne Boston, Everett High School
Elizabeth Jean Casper, Everett High School
Angela Mae Alfaro Castro, Marysville Getchell High School
Connor Cheney, Sky Valley Education Center
Alexandra Anne Cizek, Cascade High School
Valeria Viviana Cornejo, Cascade High School
Samantha Josephine Coughlan, Everett High School
Madison Rae Cox, Lakewood High School
John L. Cramer Jr., Lake Stevens High School
Christina Marie Deierling, Snohomish High School
Inderkamal Kaur Deol, Marysville Getchell High School
Aidan Emmons, Sky Valley Education Center
Aline Escoto, Snohomish High School
Allyson Farstad, Sky Valley Education Center
Alexander Gim, Henry M. Jackson High School
Rumneet Kaur Grewal, Mariner High School
Keely Hall, Lakewood High School
Eryn Hall, Marysville Pilchuck High School
Caitlyn Colleen Hill, Stanwood High School
Emily Hoot, Marysville Getchell High School
Micah Hoot, Marysville Getchell High School
Adam Vincent Ivelia, Snohomish High School
Reese Patrick Ernest Jones, Snohomish High School
Claire Kelly, Henry M. Jackson High School
Tiasa Kim, Kamiak High School
Mary Elizabeth Ann Knell, Edmonds-Woodway High School
Sheyenne Kay Koen, Granite Falls High School
Cassandra Rae Kunselman, Marysville Getchell High School
Ashish Labroo, Henry M. Jackson High School
Sebin Lee, Edmonds-Woodway High School
Hyunkyoung Jennifer Lee, Meadowdale High School
Trevor Courtney Lee, Sky Valley Education Center
Janelle Jielin Li, Marysville Getchell High School
Lauren Jeanne Little, Edmonds-Woodway High School
Anthony London, Mariner High School
Sophia Catherine Maggio, Everett High School
Aaron Maldonado, Granite Falls High School
Mitchell Scott Morris, Cascade High School
Nathan Phillip Ness, Everett High School
John Nguyen, Marysville Getchell High School
Nathan Nicholson, Snohomish High School
Molly Olson, Henry M. Jackson High School
Emily Parry, Sky Valley Education Center
Natalie Parry, Sky Valley Education Center
Gerardine Marie Pascual, Marysville Getchell High School
Victoria Tylyn Philp, Mariner High School
Jamie Phan Phung, Marysville Getchell High School
Kaitlynn Phung, Marysville Getchell High School
Savannah Nicole Pratt, Lake Stevens High School
Kyla Bersabe Pritzl, Everett High School
Isabelle Quinn, Edmonds-Woodway High School
Addison Olivia Rackowitz, Lakewood High School
James Ramirez, Cascade High School
Diana Reiman, Henry M. Jackson High School
Julia Remlinger, Snohomish High School
Trayana Rogers, Everett High School
Danielle Nicole Scanes, Everett High School
Dylan Michael Scanes, Everett High School
Frances Scott-Weis, Sky Valley Education Center
Benjamin Seaberg, Everett High School
Nathan John Sherman, Sky Valley Education Center
Natalie Simek, Henry M. Jackson High School
Kayla Slaven, Henry M. Jackson High School
Rachel Elizabeth Stockwell, Sky Valley Education Center
Teagan Tamarra, Snohomish High School
Siena Madeline Utt, Everett High School
Dania Vasquez, Marysville Getchell High School
Edna Marie Vetter, Cascade High School
Alexandria Visocky, Everett High School
Shannon Marie White, Sky Valley Education Center
Eleanor Wilde, Marysville Pilchuck High School
Snohomish County Gives 2016
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Mari’s Place gives kids a reason to stay and play
Community Foundation: New name, same critical mission
Volunteers are the heart and soul of the Red Cross
Boeing employees fund helps nonprofits make a difference
Casino Road academy helps immigrants with English
Catholic charity quietly fights homelessness
Everett Museum of History seeks a forever home
United Way gives students varsity letters in community service
Cassie Kunselman, 15, (facing) guides 7-year-old Jaelyn Fox (pink) as Alawna Schweitzberger, 11 (bottom) and Amaya Villalobos, 7 (right) lift her up in ways that pyramids are created by cheerleading squads during a practice session on the athletic field at Jennings Park in Marysville. (Dan Bates / The Herald)
Cassie Kunselman, 15, holds Amaya Villalobos, 7, up high, while she is supported in a cheer technique by Alawna Schweitzberger, 11 (lower left) and Jaelyn fox, 7 during a practice session at Jennings Park in Marysville. (Dan Bates / The Herald).
Cassie Kunselman, 15, (left) leades 7-year-old Jaelyn Fox (pink) Alawna Schweitzberger, 11 (red) and Amaya Villalobos, 7 (left) stretching and warming up to do a cheerleading practice session on the athletic field at Jennings Park in Marysville. (Dan Bates / The Herald)
