Middle school joins in Mapleton Cares Day

NANKIN – When Mapleton High School’s National Honor Society chapter started MHS Cares Day four years ago, organizers never imagined the community service event would make as big an impact as it did Tuesday.

In the inaugural year, about 45 high school students volunteered their time on a Saturday to assist with service projects throughout the community.

The following year, when the event was held during the school day, 240 students signed up.

By last year– year three– MHS Cares Day had become a tradition most high school students and teachers looked forward to.

This year, the middle school joined in Mapleton Cares Day for the first time.

While high school students fanned out throughout the district and elsewhere in the county to work at parks, churches, nursing homes, ball fields and fire departments, middle school students tackled projects on campus.

The idea came from Kory Oslie, a math teacher at the middle school and an engineering teacher at the high school.

“Last year, I heard about the high school doing the Cares Day, and I thought it would be beneficial for middle school to participate as well,” Oslie said. “I wanted for students to get a sense of community service, selflessness and thinking of others besides themselves, thinking about the community and the impact they can make on it.”

Principal Skip Fulton and the middle school staff enthusiastically supported the idea and began brainstorming ideas for what projects middle school students could complete.

“We asked students, administration and staff what improvements we could make and what needed to be done,” Oslie said.

Teams of students weeded and mulched around all three schools, picked up litter, painted and stained benches and picnic tables, created a new mulch bed along the walkway at the entrance to the high school, painted the ticket booth and storage areas at the stadium, cleaned and painted the weight room and spruced up the library and the trophy case.

Within just a couple of hours, the entire campus looked brighter.

“It’s great how much the students care about their school and their community and how much they are willing to take measures to make it beautiful and show pride in their school,” Oslie said.

Brooke Hubler, Aubrey Hochstetler and Jayden Carrick enjoyed working together to give the ticket booth at the stadium a fresh coat of paint.

“I think it’s fun because you get to spend time with your friends, and then there’s no homework,” Hubler said.

But it wasn’t just the excuse to get out of class that students appreciated. They liked knowing they had made a difference.

“It looks a lot better, and I feel like I achieved something,” said Hochstetler.

Every middle school student got a free t-shirt and a lunch, both provided by donations from the Mapleton community. After a morning of hard work, students were rewarded with field day activities in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, a group of high school students spent the morning washing floors, garage doors, windows and trucks at Polk Jackson Perry Fire Department.

Among them was Hannah Shadd, who said she has enjoyed MHS Cares Day for the past two years. Last year, she volunteered at a nature preserve.

“It’s nice to go around the community and doing things to help people,” Shadd said. “I think it’s rewarding for the person doing it, and it’s helpful to the people in the community that do so much for us. It’s nice to give back.”

Other sites at which high school students volunteered included Byers Woods, Pine Hill Farm/Sauers Park, Hurdle Waterfowl Park, Nova Community United Methodist Church, Maple Grove Church, Brethren Care Village, Lutheran Village Assisted Living and Nankin Youth League ball fields.

The high school event was organized by a steering committee of students and staff, spearheaded by NHS advisor Kerry Reisinger.

Resinger hopes the Cares Day experience will set students up for a lifetime of good citizenship.

“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.

“It’s important to show students that for many community organizations, it is often volunteers that help with the workload.”