Serving the community. Personal growth. Enhancing plans to enter the medical profession. Being part of a team. Having fun.

These are just some of the reasons why teens aged 14-18 become Candystripers and Pink Panthers.

While many of their peers adopt a negative approach to life, some 82 students from high schools around the Island have made a serious commitment to do something constructive for the community.

Thus, on Saturdays during school terms, and on alternate days during one month of their summer holidays, the young men and women pitch in all over the hospital and at Agape House, doing everything from preparing food in the coffee shop to cashiering, selling, reading to patients, fixing flowers, taking patients for X-rays and CAT scans, and filing paperwork.

"We are very fortunate here,'' supervisor Mrs. Evelyn Lathan said.

"Because of the fear of malpractice suits, Candystripers in the US are not allowed to talk to the patients or do so many of the things which ours do.'' In fact, during her visit to Bermuda last March, Mrs. Lathan said the Queen was deeply impressed, not only with the fact that young people worked as volunteers in the hospital, but also by the Candystriper organisation itself.

The Candystripers concept was first established in the US in 1942 when youth groups, among others, offered their services to hospitals. The name was derived from the distinctive red and white striped fabric of the uniforms, which the young ladies continue to wear today.

Bermuda's male counterparts are known as Pink Panthers -- a reference to the pink shirts they wear with white trousers.

Stripes and badges are work to indicate awards for increments of between 25 and 700 hours' service, and six proficiency awards are handed out in an annual ceremony during which the Candystriper of the Year is also named.

A member of the Hospitals Auxiliary of Bermuda for ten years, Mrs. Lathan took over supervision of the Candystripers two years ago, and is filled with admiration -- and affection -- for the volunteers in her charge.

"The kids are pillars of the community, and I think everyone should love and respect them for the contribution they are making to the hospital,'' she said.

Suzanne Miller, whose mother was once a Candystriper and still enthuses about the experience, is typical in giving her reasons for joining.

"It is such a great opportunity. You meet a whole new area of people and you get to learn to things you never imagined yourself doing,'' she said.

"You learn to overcome feelings you may have in order to deal with so many different people, and you learn co-operation with others.

"I am so glad I joined.

I have grown so much since I started.

Candystripers prepares you totally for life. The hospital is its own world but it has so many facets.'' 1994 Candystriper of the Year Veronica Cabral, who was persuaded by a friend to "get involved'' four years ago, agreed.

"I am very happy, and love working here,'' she said.

Even the Pink Panthers enjoy being part of the largely female organisation.

For Whitney Institute student Dathan Byrd, who has been with the Stripers for two years, it has opened new doors. At present, he is learning to be a short order cook in the hospital coffee shop -- a skill he hopes will prove useful elsewhere.

"I am thinking of becoming an occupational therapist, and learning something like this will help me to earn some money for my education.'' Noting that the Candystriper organisation was "definitely not just a girls' thing'', Dathan said he also hopes his involvement will help him to become a positive role model for his peers.

"Some of the kids tell me they're out there doing nothing, just sitting on walls,'' he said. "I tell them that some day, when I see them on a stretcher, I will remind them that I did something positive with my life. That usually gets their attention! "I try to persuade other young people to come into the programme because it gets you to think about life, and appreciate those who haven't got anything.

It's about giving to other people, which is more satisfying than taking.'' Certainly, the message has gotten through to some who were beginning to drift.

Mrs. Lathan proudly cites examples of recruits who, she was advised, were "trouble'' and would prove unsuitable.

"In fact, they turned out to be some of my best recruits,'' she declared.

"They just needed someone to take an interest in them, love them, and boost their self-esteem.'' And if there's anyone who can do that, it's Mrs. Lathan. As a wife, mother of five, grandmother of eight, and foster mother of 15 children, she is very experienced at mixing positive leadership with affection. Hugs are regularly exchanged by both sides. Pressed, however, Mrs. Lathan insists she is "a background worker, and all the glory'' goes to the teens who make the organisation so successful.

Yet there is no denying her leadership is an inspiration, for many of the Stripers and Panthers enjoy their involvement so much that they habitually give much more than the regular commitment.

As with any organisation where the mix of duties includes the extremely pleasant with the more mundane, the children's ward is very popular, while the masses of paperwork in Admissions makes it the least attractive.

A rotating duty roster, however, ensures that all volunteers get an equal share of all duties.

For Saltus Grammar School student Ben Beasley, becoming a Pink Panther didn't take much persuasion. Not only is his older brother Adrian one, but so too are some of his female friends.

"They said they liked it so much that I thought I might as well join,'' he recounted. "It sounded so good -- and it is. I feel good about coming here because I know I'm helping others, and I also have fun.'' Ben's favourite is the coffee shop, where he does everything from making sandwiches to waiting tables.

Teens help at KEMH From Page 13 Not unnaturally perhaps, since his mother Lorraine heads up the hospital's Physiotherapy Department, the young man sees his community service as a positive step towards his goal of becoming a doctor.

Similar reasons motivate Dessa Mitchell, whose father is a clinical psychologist, and Berkeley Institute student Jenna Simmons.

Dessa plans to become a doctor, and Jenna a paediatrician.

"Hands-on experience helps a lot,'' Dessa confirmed. "I have been wanting to be a doctor since I was ten years old.'' Her favourite work areas are Agape House --"a house of unconditional love. It really lives up to its name'' -- and the wards.

"For me Agape House is the best,'' she said.

The Extended Care Unit and the children's ward (Gosling) are Jenna's favourite areas.

Asked what she would tell other teens contemplating joining the Candystripers, Jenna responded: "You have to be committed to the programme, you have to have patience, you have to be willing to give up personal time, and you have to be the person that you are.'' The Candystripers organisation is a junior arm of the Hospitals Auxiliary of Bermuda, and has been in existence here since the 1960s. Anyone aged 14 to 18 is eligible to join. Application forms are available at the HAB office on the ground floor of the Hospital. Successful candidates are selected on the basis of interviews and references supplied by school guidance counsellors. For further information contact Mrs. Evelyn Lathan at the HAB office (telephone 236-2488).

TICKLED PINK -- Pink Panther Ben Beasley brings a smile to the face of patient Dijon Peniston, 3, in the children's ward at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

Photos by Tony Cordeiro CHEER-UP TIME -- Pink Panthers Ben Beasley (standing left) and Dathan Byrd (back row right) and Candystripers Dessa Miller (back row, centre) and Jenna Simmons (kneeling right) play with children's ward patients Samantha Phillips, Zaire Lowe and Briana Scott. And below, Pink Panther Dathan Byrd and Candystriper Jenna Simmons enjoy preparing food in the kitchen of the Hospitals Auxiliary of Bermuda coffee shop at the hospital.