One of the largest community service projects took place yesterday in Jefferson and the surrounding communities.

731 volunteers and Greene County high school and middle school students, armed with rakes and tarps, went around to 127 residents in Jefferson, Grand Junction and Scranton to rake up leaves on people’s lawns.

Coordinator Teresa Green says this service project began 17 years ago with ten yards and a few students involved in the Interact Club with the high school.  Now it’s gotten so big that they have expanded and its a way to give a huge thank you to community members who support their local education system.

She describes the benefits that everyone gets out of doing a community event this like.

“It’s a really good thing for our community and I have students who help me with this.  The kids help me make phone calls to the people who are on our list which is really good for them to develop their phone skills and then they get to hear how happy the people are that we are coming.  It helps to keep our community clean and I think it’s just a great way to give back.  I’ve live here a long time and the people here are just so good to our kids and its just a way for us to give back to them.”

Along with people helping to rake up leaves, Green adds that 34 other volunteers help to load up the leaves and take them to Daubendiek Park to the yard waste dump site.  She notes that each town they are going to have donated at least one garbage truck to help load leaves in Grand Junction and Scranton.

Plus, there were 6,200 donuts purchased by Home State Bank, People’s Trust and Savings Bank and Wells Fargo from Bunker’s Dunkers.  Fareway and the Jefferson Rotary Club also donated 33 cases of bottled water.

Green comments that if you want to be put on their growing list to call her at the high school to be added for next year by calling 515-386-2188.