On Thursday, May 6, Pine River-Backus High School students in grades 9-12 left campus to volunteer at locations throughout the Pine River and Backus communities.
More than 150 students, 23 staff members and six bus drivers took part in ditch cleanup, raking yards, gardening, spring cleaning and any other task requested.
Service Day is one way for our students and staff to give back to a community that supports us in all we do at school. The day lets us say thank you to those who donate to scholarships, field trips, our Tiger Den food pantry and so many other needs. We say thank you to those who attend our games and concerts cheering us on through every event.
We thank every person who has volunteered time in the classrooms, on the teams or anywhere else we needed help.
Our kids are amazing. Service Day lets students showcase hard work and determination. Every year we have service sites call or write us to express their appreciation for the day and tell us how impressed they were with the students at their site. Service Day may lead to an extended volunteer opportunity or summer job for the student worker.
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One of my favorite parts of Service Day is the time we, as staff, get to spend with students outside of the building. When working side-by-side with some of my student groups over the years I’ve met some great kids - kids I may have never met otherwise. Kids who will talk more openly when you are both digging in the garden dirt or walking ditches on Adopt-A-Highway sites.
Finally, we are grateful to the service sites that allow us into their home or business for a morning. We are grateful to the Service Day sponsors that help us cover the T-shirts and busing for all of the students and staff.
Thank you to all of the sites and sponsors that supported Pine River-Backus Service Day 2021. We look forward to next year!
Jolene Bengtson is the Pine River-Backus School District business manager.
