Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Photo
Natalia Mahdee, a Youngstown Christian School sophomore, and Perry Chickonoski, a senior, bag leaves Monday at homes in the neighborhood surrounding the school as part of a service project.
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
They came armed with rakes, leaf blowers, trash bags, work gloves and youthful energy.
Seventh- through 12th-graders at Youngstown Christian School spent part of Monday morning cleaning up yards around the school.
“We’re helping our community,” said senior Natalia Suarez, 17, as she and a group of classmates cleared leaves and debris from a house on Maywood Avenue.
The yards were from a mix of vacant and occupied homes.
At first, all of the trash, high weeds, shrubbery and leaves looked daunting, Natalia said.
“But only for a few seconds, and then we just got to work,” she said.
Seeing all the work she and her classmates had done gave Natalia a sense of accomplishment.
About an hour later, a broken- down dog house and several bags of leaves lined the street, ready for trash pickup.
Liz Samuel, the high-school Spanish teacher, said the project is the school’s and students’ way of reaching out to the community and sharing the love of God with the city.
She was impressed with how well the students worked together to get the job done.
Junior Shawn Staples, 16, leaf blower strapped to his back, moved around the Maywood yard like a landscaping pro.
“We’re cleaning up the city,” he said.
Shawn said he liked the work and he didn’t mind getting out of class for a few hours, either.
“It’s important for us to help the city and to spread the Gospel,” he said.
Senior Jasmin Simmons, 18, said it’s an important project “so we can help the city look better.”
That will make it more appealing to visitors and possibly make people want to buy homes here, Jasmin said.
“It’s fun and there’s no classwork,” she said.
But the work also gives her a sense of accomplishment, Jasmin said.