ABOVE: Fairmont High School (FHS) senior students Destinee Griffey, left, and Alayna Buntjer participate in the annual Cardinal Give Back Day event on Friday by raking leaves from a yard in Fairmont. FHS students in grades 9 to 12 tackled approximately 39 projects in an effort to show the community appreciation for its acts of support.

FAIRMONT — Fairmont High School (FHS) students in grades 9 to 12 participated in the long-standing school tradition, Cardinal Give Back Day, on Friday afternoon in Fairmont and Ceylon. As part of the event, 39 projects in the communities were tackled.

“We wanted to make it available to everyone in the community, and we wanted to make sure to get everyone who signed up involved,” FHS Principal Chad Brusky said. “The Give Back Day is really to show appreciation for the community’s support over the years.”

Some of the ways the public has supported the school include attending school and extracurricular events (sports games, theater, concerts and more) and financially supporting and granting approval to school projects and endeavors, including the CTE building.

“It reflects the commitment the community has to the school district,” Brusky said.

Planning for the event started in August to allow residents and businesses to apply for a project and arrange various transportation with Minnesota Motor Bus.

This year, to display the school’s appreciation to the community for its efforts, many projects surrounded residential and rural areas, including house work, yard work, garage and car cleaning and more things the applicant required assistance with. The school hopes that taking on projects will help build more trust among the school district and the community, and encourages the tethering of each other.

“The students learn the importance and feel the satisfaction of doing something good for others. And the community shares stories. It creates empathy and allows the students to know that everyone has a story and they can step up and help,” Brusky said. “The nature of the work makes it easier to connect. There’s a good feeling of accomplishment.”

Next year, Brusky hopes to see 50 projects taken on by the school, which is a big goal.

Since the event’s beginning, long before Brusky began his role as principal, it has garnered a generous amount of positive feedback from the applicants, according to Brusky. Last year, responses to the students’ work were rewarded with verbal and written praise and some gifts. Brusky explained with a chuckle that being recognized had ‘hit close to home’ and brought a notable amount of students to tears. Brusky recounted students expressing excitement for the next year’s Cardinal Give Back Day, or asking if it could be held again.

As a conclusion of this event, Brusky hopes it provokes joy and willingness in students to help people in need, encourages residents to find help from the students and demolishes any stigma of the community not being involved with the school district.

“Service is one of our core values at the school district. Giving back, being involved in the community, and serving others should be the mission of any school. Students recognize the joy in doing things for another. We’re all one; we’re all Cardinals. We hold each other up, and pick each other up when we fall,” Brusky said.

Applications for next year’s Cardinal Back Day will open in August 2026.