The skies were sunny but the breeze was cool last Thursday when Greene County High School students performed their annual leak raking project. A total of 736 students, staff, and community volunteers raked 128 yards in Jefferson, Scranton, and Grand Junction. Two middle school groups also helped.
The raking teams were assigned to yards and either walked or were transported to neighborhoods by school bus. As each team finished its assignment, it moved on to help other teams in the same neighborhood.
In Jefferson, two garbage trucks moved leaves from neighborhoods to Daubendiek Park. Additionally, Jefferson Rotarians, teachers and volunteers drove a total of 33 pickup trucks, some with trailers, to transport leaves. The Jefferson city crew cleaned out the compost area at the park before the rake-a-thon and used a front loader to keep the pile tidy and growing taller as leaves were delivered there.
New Way provided a garbage truck in Scranton and the city of Grand Junction provided a truck there.
Students in the professional development class gained hands-on experience in event planning. The nine students helped organize the master spreadsheet and group yards for efficiency, helped plan transportation routes, contacted homeowners whose yards would be raked, contacted local banks for donations, and more. “They were a big help and each of them contributed a lot to this project,” organizer Teresa Green said.
Along with a core of volunteers, the Rotary Club donated 400 leaf bags, and together with Fareway, provided 33 cases of bottled water for thirsty rakers. Home State Bank, Peoples Trust & Savings Bank, Wells Fargo and Bunkers Dunkers donated a total of 74 dozen donuts and 12 dozen donut holes. Green reported that no donuts were left uneaten.
This was the 17th year local high school students have raked yards. According to Green, the project “allows us to show our appreciation for everything our communities do for our schools.”
As the project has grown, more members of the community have gotten involved. “We appreciate all of the help from each of these groups. We could not have completed this project without their help,” Green added.
