Brielle Long and Kayla Plavin could spend their lunch time lingering and chatting with classmates. Instead, the sixth grade students sit at a table in the cafeteria of the Jim Thorpe Area School District's Penn-Kidder Campus, swapping candy canes for dollar bills and change. The money goes into a box to be donated to an ill child.

In Lansford, 6-year-old Chelsea Kurtz helps set out refreshments and arrange chairs for an event at the Panther Valley Public Library, and in Summit Hill, 9-year-old Emily Haas spends days of her summer vacation raising money to fight cancer.The children are among an army of little volunteers, giving up their free time to help others."It's a practical way to acquire skills and abilities, including leadership, as well as empathy, and the community-based connectedness that we want all our youth to understand," says Samantha Jo Warfield, spokeswoman for the Corporation for National and Community Service."Volunteering can give children a sense of direction and structure, and insight into what they might want to do when they get older. It can also lower risky behavior, particularly in pre-teen age groups. Further, young people who volunteer are more likely to continue volunteering as adults," she says. "Volunteering is good for the volunteer, for the community and for the world."Strength in numbersThe national volunteer rate is at a five-year high, according to a study just released by the Corporation for National and Community Service, in partnership with the National Conference on Citizenship.The study, Volunteering and Civic Life in America, found that "parents of school-aged children contributed more than 2.5 billion hours of their time to volunteer efforts in 2011, most of it to school-based projects, underscoring the pivotal role that schools play as hubs for local volunteer efforts."Overall, 64.3 million Americans (more than one in four adults) volunteered through a formal organization last year, an increase of 1.5 million from 2010. The 7.9 billion hours these individuals volunteered is valued at $171 billion. Among citizens who volunteered through an organization, the top activities included fundraising or selling items to raise money (26.2 percent); collecting, preparing, distributing, or serving food (23.6 percent); engaging in general labor or transportation (20.3 percent); or tutoring or teaching (18.2 percent)," the study says."In addition to this formal volunteering, two out of three Americans (65.1 percent, or 143.7 million individuals) volunteered informally by doing favors for and helping out their neighbors, an increase of 9.5 percentage points from last year. Among other key findings, almost half of Americans (44.1 percent) actively participated in civic, religious, and school groups.Small efforts reap big impactLittle volunteers don't do it for the glory: Neither the children interviewed for this story nor their families sought a spotlight for their good works; rather, the TIMES NEWS had to seek them out.Brielle and Kayla, both 11, were in fifth grade when they decided to reach out to others less fortunate."We started to sell candy canes last year, and we sold them for St. Jude (Hospital)," Brielle says. "We got around $100 last year. Now this year, we're selling them and we're giving the money to this first grader who was in the hospital. Right now we've raised $181, and there are still more days to go."The girls sell the candy canes for 25 cents to a dollar, depending on the size.Kayla explains how the whole sweet idea came about."We were on the bus one day, and we heard about Katie Conway doing the Doggy Drive (which collected blankets, toys and other items for an animal welfare group), and we wanted to do something like that to help somebody. We decided to do something, and we thought of selling candy canes. We talked to (Principal Brian) Mr. Gasper about it, and that's how it started," she says.Emily Haas began volunteering at the tender age of 6. She raises money for Alex's Lemonade Stand by asking for sponsors for a three-mile run/walk held each summer. The Panther Valley Elementary School student also helps care for the Australian Shepherd dogs her mother, Kristin Haas, fosters for the New Spirit for Aussie Rescue."I started three years ago. I do the Lemon Run, three miles, at the Ginter Field in Summit Hill. I also help my Mom volunteer at the Australian Shepherd dog rescue. I help at the dog events, I help with the stand, and to set up and to sell some stuff," Emily says. "I really like dogs.""The Lemon Run is a thing we do to raise money to fight cancer. We send the money to Alex's Lemonade Stand. They give the money to hospitals to help find a cure for cancer," she says.Why does Emily give up her free time?"I like to help people," she says.Chelsea Kurtz is starting out early on a life of giving."I read to other people at the library. My Mom volunteers and checks out books," she says.Chelsea read to other volunteers during the Panther Valley Public Library's recent Reading Rocks series. She also helps by getting the library ready for events.Chelsea says she volunteers "because it's nice."Planting the seeds of givingAll of the children interviewed for this story come from families that nurture volunteerism."It's a good thing to do," says Kayla Plavin's father, Steve Plavin. "We've always taught her that it's important to help others, to always strive to leave something better than you found it. We've tried to impart that, and apparently it's been successful."As with most little volunteers, giving of one's time and effort is a family affair. Kayla's two older brothers are volunteer firefighters. Kayla's older sister helps out at a day care, and her middle sister helps out around the development where they live."When I was 20 years old, I volunteered for the fire department," Steve Plavin said. "Life is precious, and you try to help others as best as you can."While volunteering is encouraged in the Plavin household, it's not forced.The idea to sell candy canes (which Steve Plavin buys for the girls to sell) "didn't come from my wife or me," he says. "This was strictly child-driven."Brielle Long's mother, Connie, has instilled the value of volunteering right from the start."I've always let her know that there are others who are less fortunate, and to do whatever she can to help them," Connie Long says.The Long family regularly donates to the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys for Tots campaign, and gives toys to a children's hospital. Brielle's two older sisters helped in church when they were in high school, including volunteering their time for the church's summer camp program."It's better to give than to receive. Brielle has learned that since she was small," Connie Long says.Emily Haas' parents, Kristin and Greg Haas, see volunteering as a crucial component of parenting."We want our children to have a sense of empathy, and to be well-rounded kids," Kristin Haas says. "We want them to care."The whole family participates as "Team Haas" in the annual Lemon Run to raise money for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation to help fund cancer research. the team, which includes Emily's father, Greg, and her sister, Abby, who is 13, have raised more than $3,000 in the four years they have been participating.Emily also donates her time and effort to help dogs.Kristin Haas volunteers for New Spirit for Aussie Rescue, a group that rescues, fosters, and places for adoption Australian Shepherds."Emily helps out with the fosters we've had maybe 10," Kristin Haas says. "She'll feed them and take them out. She also helps set up booths and selling magnets at events."Chelsea Kurtz' mother, Melinda Kurtz, also provides a good example for teaching her daughter to think of others."I volunteer at the Panther Valley Public Library, so I bring her, and she'll help out wherever she can," Melinda Kurtz says.On Sunday, Chelsea helped set up refreshments for an open house at the library, and set out chairs."She loves coming here, and since I've started volunteering here, her interest in reading has definitely increased," Melinda Kurtz says.In the library's Reading Rocks program, Chelsea read to other volunteers from St. Luke's Miners Memorial Hospital.Melinda Kurtz wants Chelsea to understand that volunteering is the best way to make the world a better place, one small part at a time."If you want a better community, the only way to get a better community is to get involved," she says.