Grab your shovels, grab your rakes and join students in their mission to members of the community.

For four and a half hours on November 11,  volunteers will be going around neighborhoods in Greenwood looking for any way to help the people who can’t get outside to work on their properties. 

“For the past two years, I have helped out with Winterization, and I really think it is a great way to give back to our community and help people with yard work that I know they can not do themselves,” senior Luke Osborn said. 

No matter what the weather has in stock for Winterization, the students buddle up and face it. 

“In the past years, you just have to be prepared for everything because it is always cold since it is a morning in November, and there is also a good chance of rain or snow during the event like there has been in past years,” junior Ethan Rose said. 

One goal for Winterization is to build the community and give students a way to build relationships outside of school.

“Every year, it has been a tradition for our swim team to do Winterization together, and this really helps build team chemistry. It is just more fun to do it with my teammates,” junior Avah Wallischeck.

When students volunteer their time on a Saturday when they are getting nothing in return, this brings out gratitude from the people they are helping and every once in a while someone will show their thanks to the volunteers.

“The most rewarding thing that happened while I was helping was when we spent time raking for a woman and then picked the weeds out of her flowerbed. She decided to come out, and she gave up hot tea and cookies for all of us that were there, and that made us all feel good for what we were doing,” Osborn said.

The students who participate could be facing many different types of jobs during the event. Students are there to fill any of the needs they can find in the community.

“While I was there my main job was to rake, but others were shoveling, working in gardens, and some people were pulling down branches and picking up the sticks,” Wallischeck said.