NANKIN — Students at Mapleton High School got a taste of community volunteerism Monday during the school’s fifth-annual MHS Cares Day.
The Mapleton chapter of the National Honor Society sponsored the three-hour event that split the high school’s over 200 students into teams to do work at 18 sites.
Kerry Reisinger, the school’s NHS advisor, said some of the projects included painting dugouts at Ruggles-Troy Ball Park, laying mulch and other landscaping projects in several playgrounds at area parks, and waxing and washing fire trucks at the Nankin Volunteer Fire Department.
“Part of good citizenship is taking an active role in your community and caring for the community you live in,” she said. “Volunteering benefits both the community and the volunteers themselves.”
Monday marked the fifth year the school has participated in MHS Cares Day after taking a break in 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions.
Part of the tradition involves visiting with residents at Lutheran Village, an assisted living facility, and Brethren Care Village, a retirement community, both located in Ashland.
Students were not permitted to go inside this time around because of pandemic restrictions, so Reisinger said they crafted paper butterflies to stick on residents’ windows instead.
The afternoon was capped with a barbecue lunch prepared by the high school principal, Corey Kline, and the school’s resource officer.
“It is important to our district to show students the value of community service and providing a helping hand to those who need it, simply for the good of helping your community,” Kline said.
