WAYNESBORO – Two groups at Waynesboro Area Senior High School answered a call for volunteers at Waynesboro Area YMCA.
Members of Future Business Leaders of America and the girls soccer team painted two outside walls of the warm water pool, according to Dr. Kim Eaton, chief executive officer at the Y.
“It was a fun time. They did a great job,” Eaton added. “It’s hard to cover the material because it’s stucco-like and you have to go over it and over it. They’re coming back over to do some trim.”
The volunteers were enlisted by Brian Fisher, career coordinator at WASHS after Eaton contacted school district officials about her need for help. Fisher is adviser to FBLA along with Kegan Crider and coach of the girls soccer team.
“The kids try to come up with their ideas for community service – they attempt to get five hours per month – and then this became available,” Fisher said.
“It’s important to show the kids that service matters and instill that service mindset at a young age … giving back to the community and putting others first, to lead by example,” added Fisher.
FBLA members will help unload a truck of donations for the New Hope Shelter thrift shop in October and host a spaghetti dinner for shelter residents Nov. 25. “We had the dinner last fall, and it was an awesome experience and the kids wanted to do it again,” he noted.
Eaton said the painting project was part of an ongoing effort to “make the building easier to take care of and keep it as nice as we can.” Shrubbery in front of the walls was removed to keep the roots from growing into the foundation, she added. “It’s going to be grass in that area and can then be mowed along with the rest of the grass there. We also removed a tree that was diseased.”
“Lots of people help us out. The Boy Scouts are going to do a landscaping project in the front of the wellness center,” noted Eaton, who added that the Y is always looking for volunteers. “We have a volunteer here now who is doing computer work to help eliminate all the paper. It’s very time consuming work, and we just don’t have enough staff. She’s scanning in forms – things are so much easier to find if they’re on the computer.”
Eaton once again thanked the community for helping the Y not only reach, but exceed its original goal of $350,000 for pool repair work. “After learning that we hadn’t quite reached it, people came to me and said ‘How much do you need?’ That was very exciting.”
The CEO encouraged area residents to become a part of the volunteer work at the Y. “Call the Y at 717-762-6012 and ask for me,” she said.
