On Monday, several boys and girls from Winthrop High School descended with rakes from a big yellow school bus and attacked my yard.

They raked up and bagged a lot of leaves. They turned a day-long project for me into a 45-minute job and had a lot of fun while they were doing it. This “Day of Caring” saved me a lot of time and hard work and also gave me an opportunity to meet a terrific group of kids.

Before descending on my lawn, these kids had put the docks into the water at Mechuwana and then cleaned up winter debris at a local cemetery.

I think this is a wonderful opportunity for members of the community to interact with these kids and appreciate their commitment to getting a job done and done well while having a good time on a beautiful spring day.

David Poulin was the teacher who accompanied this group of students as they went about their “jobs” for the day. I believe he is at least partly responsible for initiating this community service program at Winthrop High School.

I’m very grateful that one of my spring jobs was completed so quickly but I’m much more grateful to have met a such a nice bunch of kids. Thanks everyone.

Dayle Ashby

Winthrop