If someone had driven through Van Buren last Friday, it might have appeared school was out for the summer because of how many students were outside around town. Upon closer inspection, however, those students were in work mode, not summer mode, as they were equipped with paintbrushes, rakes, and more to serve throughout the village for VB Service Day.
Mrs. Bethany Archer, who along with Mr. Adam Schumaker and Mr. Dan Evans led students working at Van Buren State Park, said, “The kids get an immediate sense of satisfaction on service day because they can see what they have accomplished. We picked up two giant bags of trash while walking the trails, and the kids could see what they had done. The students who signed up to work at the state park knew they wouldn’t have an easy morning, but they still wanted to do it.”
Students served in a variety of ways. One of those, roadside cleanup, isn’t something people would be expected to enjoy, but working with friends makes all the difference. Jamie Cavera, a senior, said, “My friends signed up for roadside clean up. We have done it the last few years on service day, so not only were we able to be outside, but we were also able to fill six bags with trash.”
Lilli Wilson, a junior who made cards for people in the nursing home, also had a positive experience, saying, “I liked making cards and adding messages to them because I knew it was going to bring joy to people who might not have family remaining in their lives.”
Mayor Ed May agreed that students had a huge impact on service day. He said, “Our village looks forward to community service day every year as a great opportunity to give students some hands-on experience while helping residents and the overall community. We all appreciate the work students completed around the village, and they should be proud of what they accomplished.”
One of those village residents, Mrs. Linda Brinkman, also had an impact on freshman Drew Powell. While Powell and other students cleared weeds from Brinkman’s garden, she explained what plants were growing there already so students were sure to pull only the weeds. When she pointed out the garlic she was growing, Powell started sharing that he was growing two varieties of peppers and cilantro at his house. That led Brinkman to offer some of her garlic plants to him. Using a shovel, he removed the plants, took them home, and replanted them so he could enjoy using the cloves in recipes this summer.
In addition to all of the work to support our community, students also completed a variety of tasks at school. Freshman Shiv Patel helped set up for the art show taking place this week. He said, “I am taking digital art this year, so I signed up to help with the art show. I enjoyed setting up tables and hanging the artwork so people could see the work we have done in our classes this year.”
Whether it was helping prepare the Allen Township Sportsplex for a summer of activity, repainting curbs and hydrants throughout the village, spreading mulch at the school and for village residents, clearing trails and picking up the trash at the state park, cleaning roadsides, writing cards to local veterans and nursing home residents, retiring flags, and more, our students should be proud of the positive impact they had on our community!
