SCRANTON — It’s a sight not often seen: a group and seventh and eighth graders volunteering to give up their Saturday.
“We`re doing basically, raking leaves, picking up garbage, basically everything,” said Casey Shields, a student volunteer.
These students from South Scranton Intermediate School kept busy at Connell Park in Scranton’s south side raking leaves and getting the park winter ready.
Jobs like these are usually done by Scranton’s DPW workers, but since the city is in a budget crunch, officials feared the work would go by the wayside.
“‘Mayor Doherty was very interested in getting the parks in shape before the winter hit, and I though this is the perfect opportunity,” said Scranton Magistrate Joanne Price Corbett.
Magistrate Corbett contacted South Scranton Intermediate’s Service Learning Club and asked them to winterize the park.
They’re helping out the city and at the same time the city’s helping them. They’re earning valuable service hours they’ll need to join the national honors society an also learning a valuable lesson.
“it`s not only the issue of making this a cleaner community, it`s a motivating factor to make these kids have responsibility and that`s what they need,” said Judge Tom Munley, the Lackawanna County President Judge.
The Service Learning Club is back at South Scranton Intermediate after its funding was cut a few years back. It’s organizers say they’re happy to kick off the new year like this.
“They are just so willing, I am thrilled that they were able to come out in a large number today and I`m just so impressed by how much they want to give back to the community,” said Diane D`angelo, an adviser to the Service Learning Club.
