for a tidying up; as a result of autumn’s leftovers, and students not picking up after themselves, trash and debris were littered across the campus. However, the Warriors quickly banded together to return the school to its former glory. A campus cleanup was set in motion on a sunny Saturday, May 3, co-hosted by the Gardening and Environmental Clubs.
Students gathered around to hear Mr. Jaenicke explain the rules: keep your gloves on at all times, don’t pick up glass, and separate compost from waste. Following the speech, volunteers divided into groups, each dedicated to different sections of the campus. Some groups raked leaves, while others pulled weeds out of the ground and picked up waste.
When students were asked how they felt about helping out, they expressed a mix of emotions. “It feels good to help out. I’m relieved that it’s over but I’m glad I did it,” said Junior Aliya Brooks.
Freshman Isys Ramirez expressed a similar sentiment, “It was unexpected. I completely forgot that was going to happen, but it was fun getting to clean up with my friends. It was also very hot.”
Gardening Club advisor Ms. Goodacre explained her motives for helping to plan the cleanup. “I like beautifying our campus and making it a nicer place for kids to walk around and see,” she said.
The volunteers’ hard work was evident in the way that the campus’ greenery shone. Most of the students found out about this event through Helper Helper, an app that allows you to find opportunities and document any hours of giving back to the community. Along with this app, there are numerous websites that cater to student volunteers.
One form of volunteering that has become increasingly popular is online volunteering. This type of volunteering allows people to still do their part without stepping foot outside of their home. The online opportunities can range from “Be My Eyes”, a website that allows volunteers to help the visually impaired with their daily tasks, to even just basic tutoring on a Zoom call. As for you bilinguals or polyglots out there that want to put your language skills to good use, “Translators without Borders” is a community with over 100,000 volunteers that provide language services to those who need it.
Whether you like online volunteering, or in person volunteering, the possibilities are endless, so don’t be afraid to take advantage of them before it’s too late.
