Woodbury students honor King with service

Even if it wasn't Martin Luther King's Birthday and his school, Woodbury Junior-Senior High School, hadn't planned almost a dozen ways students could help their community, Jonathan Schollenberger would probably be at the Friendship Fire Station.

"I love doing this. I want to do this the rest of my life," said Schollenberger, 15, a junior firefighter who persuaded several friends to help clean the trucks and station as a way to honor King.

It was too cold to pull out the trucks and make them sparkle, so the half-dozen students washed dishes, vacuumed, even cleaned windows - all jobs Schollenberger and the five other junior firefighters probably would have been assigned.

For the sixth year, Woodbury students fanned out across the two-square-mile city to cut vegetables for a soup kitchen, stock shelves at a food bank, paint nails for seniors, even clean their own classrooms to honor the vision of the civil-rights hero who died years before they were born.

To remind them of why they were dusting and mopping when they could be sleeping in, the Rev. Tyrone Reeves Sr., a minister who works as a hall monitor at the school, recounted King's life and work, even reciting part of his famous "I Have a Dream" speech while principal Denise Dunham accompanied him on the piano during a kickoff program.

Dunham said she started the volunteer day six years ago because it builds character and makes children "kinder and gentler." The first year, 12 boys showed up. The next year, there were 32 students. The school board has instituted a 72-hour service learning requirement for graduation, so many students logged some of those hours Monday.

One of the most popular projects was cleaning the school. Groups of students armed with brooms, paper towels, cleaner, and rags scrubbed desktops, swept floors, and did whatever else was on a jobs list prepared by teachers.

Most of the youths said they had to clean at home.

"If our school is clean, it shows more respect. If we make it dirty, we should clean up after ourselves," said Dasaivre Golbsboro, 14.

Across the street at the firehouse, Mason Jones, 14, and Miguel Sanchez, 15, mopped an equipment room. Both said they believed it was important to volunteer in your community.

"If you're not helping, who will?" Jones said.

Sanchez said he wanted to help out at the firehouse because "rescuing people, for me, is probably the most important thing, even if it's just helping out cleaning."

Schollenberger, who joined the fire company in May, already has 230 hours of community service. Although he cannot fight fires until he is 18, he goes out on calls and helps set up hoses, among other tasks.

"I love helping people and knowing I'm helping my city," he said.

Jessica Rohlfing, 15, who said Schollenberger is one of her best friends, wanted to join the fire company, too. Though she got stuck with "women's work" - cleaning dishes and vacuuming - she said it was worthwhile.

"Most kids think this is a day to sleep in, but it really should be about helping the community," she said.

Over at the YMCA, three students helping out with day care were bombarded with foam balls by a bunch of giggling 6- to 9-year-olds. They loved it.

"It's just great to be involved in the community," said Nicole Duncan, 15. "It just feels good."