Paul Steffen was already a busy man in real estate when he was approached with an idea he could not resist. With his daughter playing Varsity Basketball as a freshman here at CHS, following her sophomore year, several parents of her teammates decided they wanted to get together and make the Girls Basketball Boosters more effective. As a result, Steffen decided to volunteer his time in supporting his daughter through this opportunity.
“I love volunteering because I meet other people that are giving their time and energy to make the world a better place,” Steffen said.
As a young boy, Steffen went with his father on workdays to help at Kiwanis Club. An organization dedicated to improving the community and helping children. Workdays served as his entree to the world of helping others. He also worked with his sister to set up and secure camping facilities for Uni-camp, a volunteer program at UCLA that matches their students with community youth in an outdoor setting. As an adult, he is active with AYSO, Claremont Community Foundation and Rotary Club along with other organizations. His past experiences helped Steffen decide to add more to his volunteer schedule by assisting the Varsity Girls Basketball team.
Being part of the parent boosters can have many responsibilities and requires extensive time and effort, including monthly meetings to discuss issues and progress with individual or group projects.
“Being a booster can be time-consuming.” Steffen said. “I’m very lucky to work with other boosters who devote more hours than I do to support our athletes.”
Steffan mentioned that his wife is also a booster for the CHS Girls Basketball team and is a huge help in ensuring that everything gets taken care of especially when he is overwhelmed.
In his capacity as Chair, he does his best to make sure that everyone is heard, that their ideas are listened to, and that the boosters as a group reach a decision that is in the best interests of all. Recently, they raised money for new warm-up outfits and uniforms so that the athletes can look sharp and take pride in their team and school.
Despite the many hours Steffen dedicates to his the ooster responsibilities, he considers the effort worthwhile and gratifying; he loves what he does. He gains much more than he gives when volunteering.
“Being busy and helping to make things better is very rewarding. I love meeting people, working with them, and getting to know them,” Steffen said. “For me wealth is measured by the people I become friends with that I can help and are there to help me.”
By his own standards, Steffen is a wealthy man. He not only provides the community with services in his professional role as the broker/owner of a local brokerage and as the owner/operator of a local property management company but also manages to find time for his volunteering efforts in the Claremont area and, specifically, for CHS. He has stated that one of the most valuable things to him is being part of an active community. He is valued, in return, by our school and community.