OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – More than 100 Oshkosh North High School students are working to better their neighborhoods this 911.
The school’s Communities program is cleaning up and beautifying areas, turning the somber day into a day of service.
“We’re trying to take a day of tragedy and make it into a day where people go out and help the community, so that people remember it as something positive,” said Communities program student Bree Clancy.
Shovels in hand, Oshkosh North 9th and 10th graders spent the morning putting some elbow grease into their communities for “9/11 Day.”
“To help people without necessarily needing money and, you know, a way to make a benefit in this community,” North Oshkosh’s Communities student Christo Giannopoulos said.
The high school’s Communities students would divide and conquer, partnering with local organizations to clean up rental properties, parks and shorelines throughout the city.
They’re joining more than 30 million Americans, dedicating time to help others in the spirit of service.
“They want to make a difference,” co-founder of the Communities program Brad Weber tells FOX 11.
“We have found that anytime you can actively engage them in what they’re learning, it’s going to stick with them; it’s gonna retain that information but, most importantly, they feel good at the end of the day.”
At the Winnebago County Housing Authority, the students pulled out weeds, trimmed shrubs and planted new trees for families.
“It makes things available that maybe, otherwise, isn’t,” said Justin Mitchell of the Winnebago Housing Authority.
“It exposes the kids to some of the concepts of what affordable housing is and, maybe, challenges some of their misconceptions of what ‘low-income’ housing might be.”
And the work didn’t stop there.
Other students hopped into kayaks, taking to the water to do their share of good deeds.
Bree Clancy/Communities Program Student, Oshkosh North: “They had soda cans upside down, plastic bags in the waterthere was a lot more than I thought there was going to be,” said Clancy.
The first group of students at Miller’s Bay in Oshkosh were onsite for less than an hour and had already collected bags, and bags of trash.
But whether it was by shoveling dirt, or paddling a kayak, Communities students all came together with one important goal in mind – transforming the tragic day into a symbol of hope.
“If you do the little things, it’s gonna help make a change in the world,” Clancy said. “Even if it’s just a small thing.”
Oshkosh North’s Communities’ 11th and 12th graders took over the duties Thursday afternoon.
Today, the first group of students will be back at it again.
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