Launched at Hamilton, Now Across the US: Oak Outreach Inc.
Photograph submitted by Ghere.
Alex Ghere & Lilia Rademaker
Last June, Hamilton Juniors Alex Ghere, Lilia Rademaker, and Selina Waller set out to help local, disabled seniors with yardwork, aiming to make an impact on their community. Today, Oak Outreach Inc. has blossomed into a much larger initiative. With a volunteer base of 50+ individuals, Alex, Lilia, and Selina have impacted 31 individuals in need so far, and registered their initiative with the federal government. After partnering with the National Honor Society, they were able to jumpstart their project and gain more attention from students at Hamilton.
Today, Oak Outreach Inc. has expanded nationwide. With multiple chapters being formed across Wisconsin and Connecticut, their impact has greatly increased. Alex and Lilia, the National Presidents, are looking toward Texas, New Jersey, North Carolina, and California for the next expansion of their nonprofit. Selina, the Oak Outreach Wisconsin State President is hard at work creating a chapter at Arrowhead High School.
Typically, an Oak Outreach job does not consist of extremely intense tasks and is friendly for high school volunteers with all levels of gardening experience! At the last couple jobs, common activities have included raking leaves, weeding, trimming plants, mowing, planting, and shoveling. Our volunteer retention and satisfaction has been extremely strong, with over 70% of our volunteers coming back to a second job.
At the end of the 2025 season, the Sussex Hamilton chapter alone had a total of over 300 volunteer hours, and (yes we kept track) filled 112 yard waste bags.
Recently, Alex and Lilia collected some volunteer testimonials from dedicated Hamilton volunteers…
Nate Seboe: “My favorite part of volunteering was trimming bushes and spending time with my friends. I definitely recommend it if you need more volunteer hours!” (2025 Volunteer of the Year)
Saanvi Nalla: “I never thought gardening could be this fun! It was amazing to see how happy the client was with our work and it felt great to spend time with friends while helping in the community.”
Maliha Aroush: “My favorite part of volunteering was helping out our client and talking with her about her story before and after we finished working! I also enjoyed spending time with the other volunteers.”
Not only has Oak Outreach made a difference in our volunteer’s lives, but it has been a positive addition to our whole community…
Donna B: “Yesterday, Sep. 4, 3025 I had the greatest experience. A group of young people had reached out to me and offered to take care of weeding and trimming my yard. They are young entrepreneurs. And I don't think I ever met such nice people. BUT, even more importantly, they did the best job ever. My yard has never looked so good. I highly recommend them. In the last 2 years I've had work done on my home. It is very hard to find good workers. This group ranks an A+, Best Ever. I fell in love with all of them. They are creative and really great leaders. All were so wonderful I hated to see them leave.”
Betty G: “I wanted to give a HUGE thank you to the Oak Outreach group of students that did an outstanding job for us in getting some brush, weeds, and leaves out to the curb ready for clean up week. They were prompt, and communicated well with what they were doing. Since we are new here I wasn't sure who to call so I REALLLY appreciated them coming to help us. I would recommend them to do any of your yard clean up or maintenance. THANK YOU so much!!!”
Clara F: “This last week on Tuesday 9/16/2025 these high school kids from Oak Outreach came to do the weeds in our yard. They did a fantastic job! They all worked well together, they were professional and they worked hard to clean up our yard. These young people were terrific and I highly recommend their service.”
Oak Outreach helps develop your leadership skills and is a fun experience, while still benefiting the community! General volunteering typically lasts 2-3 hours and you can bring friends too—If you are interested in getting involved, PLEASE…
Email oakoutreachwisconsin@gmail.com, Alex Ghere, Lilia Rademaker, or Selina Waller
Follow our instagram @oakoutreach_wi
Visit our website https://oakoutreachwiscons.wixsite.com/oak-outreach-wiscons
Join our remind: @oakvoluntr
Get involved, make a difference!
