Martin Co. West students give back
Jennifer Brookens — Staff WriterArticle Photos
SHERBURN - Martin County West students had the afternoon away from their classrooms Friday, but that doesn't mean they stopped working.
But in many cases, it probably didn't feel like they were working. One group of senior class girls were painting fingernails for the ladies at Temperance Lake Ridge assisted living. Others were playing pool with the residents. And still others were putting in hard work at the FFA garden, raking leaves, washing windows and painting picnic tables or fire hydrants, while enjoying a nice day outside in the process.
Friday was a day of giving back for Martin County West.
"So often, we're asking the businesses here for support, and the towns support us so much," said Erin Lippert, one of the teachers who helped organize the Martin County West Gives Back event. "We just wanted to show our appreciation by doing all these different things for the cities."
The "gives back" idea started at the beginning of the school year. Homeroom teachers worked with their students, and about 20 different ideas and projects to help the communities were formed.
"The two goals we had were to: 1) work with the advisory council, and 2) show the importance of helping others," said Stephanie Wohlhuter, who was helping a group of ninth-graders in the FFA garden Friday afternoon. "The biggest thing is that some of these kids are not as active in community projects. Some of them are asking, 'Why aren't we getting paid?' We want them to get in the frame of mind that we do these things to help others."
Older students already seemed to have the right idea behind the project.
"Each class picked an activity, and today we took the afternoon off and did it," Bailee Firchau explained to a group of women from Temperance Lake Ridge who were having their nails painted. "This is the Martin County West give back day because the people in the community give a lot to us."
All three towns that represent Martin County West received help from students.
"We had some groups with CREST, and they are washing windows and raking leaves for some of our elderly residents," Wohlhuter said.
City parks departments also had projects for the students, such as painting picnic tables.
"In Welcome, they're painting the fire hydrants." Wohlhuter said.
Teachers said most of the students were enjoying giving back, or at least enjoying the day outside the classroom.
"It's a nice day out, which helps," Wohlhuter said.
Both students and teachers hope giving back will become a regular part of life at Martin County West.
"We hope to do it again in the spring," Firchau said.
"We'd at least like to see it become an annual event," Wohlhuter added.
