Over 75 high school and middle-school students gathered recently to perform public service in the form of raking leaves. They were part of Kiwanis sponsored clubs designed to spark community service and participation awareness in young people.
A number of St. Johns residents received a Sunday surprise recently when a group of over 75 students descended on sections of the city to graciously rake leaves. The activity, which has become a regular autumn event, is but one of several public service projects undertaken throughout the year by two groups of students from St. Johns Public Schools, coordinated by a joint effort of school staff and members of St. Johns Kiwanis Club.
The recent leaf rake outing included over a dozen homes and, of course, each was completed without charge to residents benefitting from the clean-up. All of the participants are students in either high or middle school and are members of The Good Wins Key Club or The Builders Club. School staff personnel serving as directors are Jo Welles, Builders Club, and Kari Simon-Pieters, Good Wins Club. According to Kari Simon-Pieters, for this outing, the two clubs were joined by members of the St. Johns High School basketball team.
Kiwanis members Jan Havlik and Denise Uribe are coordinators for The Builders Club and The Good Wins Key Club, respectively.
Another current undertaking is already underway in commemoration of Veterans Day. “This is a school wide celebration,” explained Ms Simon-Pieters, “in which we are collecting Phones for Soldiers. Throughout November, anyone having an unused cell phone (or two!) may drop it off at the high school and we’ll ensure that the proceeds raised will be donated to a number of local military programs.”
Before a week passed from the raking, Ms Simon-Pieters had received an email from the daughter of a family with a leaf free lawn. “My parents just called me,” it read, “to tell me that Good Wins stopped by to rake leaves. They were so excited! Thank you . . . and God bless.”
The pair of recent projects are clear representations of how the young people comprising the two clubs identify and respond to community needs . . . all in the spirit of volunteering and lending assistance to others.
