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Health & Fitness

Friends of Fall: Leaf Raking for the Elderly

On October 29th and November 11th WHS students connect with Weston elderly to help rake leaves for them and make a difference in the community.

On Saturday, Oct. 29, a handful of Weston High Schoolers volunteered for the Inter-generational Club by way of my Leaf Raking Project. 

I created Friends of Fall last summer when I worked with the COA on a way to connect students to the elderly in town who need help with seemingly simple tasks. For them, having the leaves carried off their lawn is just one way to make that happen. 

My inspiration came from the Shoveling for Seniors Project, which senior Sophia Wirth and I co-chair for our third year this winter. In this program, we also bring students to the doorsteps of the elderly in need of manual labor. 

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Last year, between the two raking days, I collected 40 volunteers and helped over a dozen elderly people. Many of the residents, like Viola Shafer, are now close friends of mine. 

"I'm happy to help," says sophomore Gene Miller. "It's a simple way to give back and the senior citizens are really appreciative. It's totally worth it!" 

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The volunteers are collected in the week prior to the rake date and are assigned a house and 2-hour time slot. They are given bags to carry the leaves and calling cards that they leave for the residents. 

If you know a teenager (or younger) in need of community service, the second raking day is this Friday (anytime all day and possibly Saturday or Sunday if that works best). Elected "raking captains" will be the ones directly in contact with me prior to and throughout the process, and they are the ones who get their friends together to go with them.

Prospective rakers: my email is TannerSkenderian@gmail.com; the senior citizens will thank you!

Stay tuned for more updates on these intergenerational efforts, like the shoveling which starts in January and the Spring Clean-Up for Senior Citizens this spring, which I created last April. These are all a great chance to make a difference and build moral character! I am happy to share the success with my readers. Not to mention... I'm looking for someone dedicated to the mission who can take these projects over when I leave... spread the word! (Attached photos courtesy of last year's rakers)

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