100-plus Medina students spent Monday on community service projects

Photos courtesy of Medina Central School

MEDINA – More than hundred students at Medina High School spent several hours working on community service projects in the community on Monday.

The top photos shows an IMPACT group from Medina that includes, from left: Teacher Julie Webber, Johann Anderson, Renee Masters, Lydia Battaglia, Karizma Lathrop and Jessica James.

Students had an option of remaining at school and helping out around the campus or going out in the community.

“We were very impressed with the turnout of students that wanted to volunteer their time,” said teacher Kim Zakes. “We had a lot of underclassmen who wanted to get involved which was great. The students actually came up with the idea on their own from their IMPACT group, which stands for Influencing Many People As Concerned Teens. We all thought it was a fantastic idea.”

Teacher Krista Duhow says they reached out to Village of Medina Public Works Superintendent Peter Houseknecht to see where the students could lend a hand.

Allison and Jake Bensley get ready to head out to clean Butts Park.

“We had groups going to the canal, Boxwood Cemetery and Butts Park to help clean up,” she said.

Teacher Julie Webber helped to coordinate the activities around the campus of the school district.

“We had students cleaning the trophy cases, making signs around the school to help people navigate better, making trash receptacles, decorating cubbies, hanging up college signs, making care packages for the military and planting flower gardens,” she said.

Students were fed lunch, attended a kick-off rally and then divided into teams with a teacher mentor to work on their tasks. Mrs. Webber said when the students returned for their ice cream social, teachers heard nothing but positive feedback.

“They loved it,” Webber said. “They had a lot of fun and really enjoyed helping out.”

Freshmen Renee Masters said, “I believe it was a good day to bond with other classmates that you don’t usually associate with. It was a good thing to do for our community. I really think we should do this more often.”