BUTLER TWP — LaVerne Hartle, 47, of Slippery Rock Township, Lawrence County, never quite means to volunteer.

"I've never gone out and pursued volunteer opportunities," she said. "They always just fall in my lap."

But, in her lifetime, she's always found ways to help people. One of her earliest memories of the rewarding feeling she gets from volunteering came when she was a high school cheerleader. A football player from a rival high school team was injured on the field, so she and the other cheerleaders raised money for him and presented it at the game.

Now, she's finding ways to help people as the president of the Butler County Community College chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, an honor society for two-year schools. A main tenant of the society that began in 1968 at the college is service.

"As soon as I was eligible, I signed up," she said.

But becoming president wasn't in her plans. She simply signed up as vice president when a friend asked her to and the job "fell in her lap" when the friend left the position.

She loves to organize and plan, she said, so the position suits her well. Through the year she donates many hours to the organization for public events and membership meetings.

The honor society has two meetings per month, one for general membership and one for officers. It also sponsors campuswide events such as Good As Gold Week, a school spirit event, and community events such as Winter Solstice, a holiday light celebration.

Other events are designed to bring awareness to the organization or to recognize staff and faculty for their contributions. For each of the half-dozen events she plans, she does some of the work herself, and sees that the rest of the work gets done.

Cheryl Cavaliero, adviser for Phi Theta Kappa, said there are about 125 members of the chapter, and each year about five to 20 are active.

Cavaliero said most of the active volunteers are returning adult women students. Many have children and many are single mothers, she said.

"When we do projects, their children are right beside them," she said.

Cavaliero sees that the group focuses on the Relay for Life benefit and the Adopt a Highway campaign on Vogel Road in Penn Township.

Additionally, the national organization has an international service program. This year, it is Operation Green. Beyond that, she said, it's up to the students to get done what they can.

Cavaliero is particularly proud of the light-up night tradition the college has started. The college uses luminarias to brighten the campus and provides free refreshments and horse drawn wagon rides.

She sees it as a nice community service.

"It gives them a little bit of extra holiday celebration,"she said.

The chapter gets a little more than $200 annually from the college and holds fundraisers for the additional money it needs.

Hartle couldn't estimate the hours she donates.

"It depends on what's going on,"she said. "It's a lot of planning in meetings."

In addition to Winter Solstice, her favorite events are Dr. Seuss Day and the Relay for Life. On Dr. Seuss Day, a second grade class from an elementary school visits the college for reading activities. In the spring, the college coordinates the Relay for Life, a fundraiser for cancer research that uses the college campus. Hartle has been team captain two years.

At one Relay, she met a friend she still keeps in touch with by e-mail.

"She was a really nice person I wouldn't have met if I hadn't volunteered,"she said.

She's also volunteered for youth soccer, as a Cub Scout leader and has baked goods for her church.

Volunteering is good way to meet people, she said, but in the end, she said the most rewarding aspect is helping others.

"I enjoy helping people," she said.

She enjoys it so much, she rarely says no.

"My teachers always tell me you need to learn how to say no, LaVerne," she said. She worries that if she says no, some things might not get done.

She admits she goes overboard sometimes.

"Igo out of my way to make sure things are nice," she said. "If you want one dozen cookies, I'll probably bring you five."

<B>NAME: </B>Phi Theta Kappa, honor society for two-year schools<B>ADDRESS:</B> Butler County Community College<B>ADVISER: </B>Cheryl Cavaliero<B>NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS: </B>125 chapter members with 5 to 20 active each year