Soliday’s Service Adventure

What started as a hobby for Carter Soliday has turned into a passion for serving. As a junior, he has become a leader of the Ryken Service Club. He does not just show up to the bi-weekly meetings —  he lives out the call to service. Soliday dedicates his time to Norton Children’s Hospital, Tigers Care Food Drives, Special Olympics, Toys for Tots, and the American Heart Foundation.

Soliday mainly works with the fundraising side of Norton Children’s Hospital. He does everything from setting up the events to running parts of the operation. His favorite Norton events that he has been a part of are the Festival of Tree and Lights at Louisville Slugger Field, an Audubon Hospital fundraiser, and Bike to Beat Cancer. 

“At Bike to Beat Cancer, I mainly helped with registration,” Soliday said. “Then, later on I helped supply and fill up drinks and snacks for the bike riders that were coming back from their 100-mile bike ride. It was a really cool experience because everyone was so lively and excited to be there. There was a sense of euphoria in the air that everyone could feel.”

If you need service hours, Norton is a great place to serve.

“They create an environment of positivity and care,” Soliday said. “At every event, they support the volunteers and treat them like family.”

Given Soliday’s hours of service this year, which is over one hundred, he is prime to give advice to all St. X students wanting to find an avenue to serve. He has found MobileServe to be a place to look first, but as he has built relationships with the individuals running the service organizations he contacts them directly to set up service opportunities. 

“There are tons of organizations that need volunteers. Any event that goes on in the community has an open volunteer center wanting people to help out,” Soliday said. “If you look in the right places, new doors to new opportunities will open for you.”