Today we held our first “YC Cleanup” since, Covid-19 struck nearly 2 years ago.
Over the years at our building, the centre has welcomed many different volunteers to this annual event.
As time has passed, the youth presence dwindled and for a while, the YC cleanup was done by volunteers only.
This year however, we assembled as many hard-working SADD members as we could (regulations set by the government) to complete some of the important duties that keep our building maintained.
Today we;
-Washed/soaked down railings.
-Pressure washed the entire side of the building, gutters area and concrete slabs (front/back).
-We raked any fallen leaves and rubbish from the stone wall, the backyard, side of the building and near the basketball court.
-Cleared all the small bits from the grass near the driveway.
-Removed fallen sticks and debris from property.
-Moved swings (Shannon showed us how to fix them when they’ve fallen off track!)
-Replaced gutter siding piece which had broken off (receipt taken to CAB and paid).
…With a pause for a Slush Puppy midway of course!
Today we followed regulations to a T and some went as far as to keep their mask on and advised extra precaution be taken by providing others with sanitizer and giving friendly reminders to stay appropriately distanced.
The kids did a phenomenal job at keeping up the rhythm while also providing each other with enough gossip and entertainment to keep us going.
Heather was our MVP (Most.Valuable.Parent) for the day, sticking around the full 2 1/2 hours to accomplish the leaf removal from the trickiest places with Eleanor.
Shannon Derby was kind enough to come with his pressure washer and oversee some other happenings today. And as the only one of us with credentials to climb a ladder, he was elected “Siding changer” upon arrival.
Eleanor helped organize and orchestrate the entire thing and she gets all the credit!
If I had to go get slush puppies, and rake through the rhubarb today it may well have done me in; But not Eleanor!
Me? I am happy.
I am proud to call myself a part of the team we assembled and what our team could accomplish in only two and a half hours.
I am grateful the YC is clean again, but mostly I am grateful I got to tell someone how much older they looked, I heard about everyone’s teachers and what it’s like to be schooling online, I learned about the loss of innocence and the finding of courage in others, perhaps most importantly I got to be a nerd with Shannon for a while.
I’m wishing you all the best weekend.
I hope you assemble your team and make things better than they were.
Cheers to the YC Cleanup Crew and the hope that one day we can all get sunburns and moan in the heat together again!
Much love,
Ethan.
