Jan. 20, 2009 — An army of kids swarmed over the Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Croix Monday, raking, mopping floors, picking up trash, scrubbing down counters and sorting toys, athletic equipment, games and more.
"This is awesome," said Julie Landreneau, executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Croix.
Some 200 volunteers, mostly teenagers performing school-required community service, took part at one or the other site on St. Croix as part of a Day of Service commemorating Martin Luther King Day. At the Frederiksted club, the day began with a ceremony remembering King and his call to service.
The Day of Service was initially the idea of the staff at Lutheran Social Services, Landenreau said.
"They were the ones who wanted to do a day of service honoring Dr. King," she said. "I thought, 'Go ahead and open it to anyone who wanted to help.'"
Participating were volunteers from local schools and community organizations, including Lutheran Social Services and Americorps, and businesses, including the Stanford Group.
"I'm really surprised at all the agencies that are taking part," said Diane Capehart, a club board member. "It's great to see everyone pitching in and helping."
A lot of the teens are required to perform hours of community service by their schools, but doing it as part of King's holiday makes it more memorable.
Salisher Charles, 15, said she and her friends have done school-required community service at other agencies, but there was something special about doing it on King's birthday.
"Sometimes it's good to give something back to the community," she said as she took a break from cleaning counters in the computer room at the Frederiksted Boys & Girls Club.
Brother and sister Grant and Claire Reed moved to St. Croix only five months ago from Georgia, and said Landenreau had encouraged them to come down to help.
"The is a good institution," Grant Reed said.
Since its inception, the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday was meant to be more than just another day when schools and government offices were closed. When Congress passed the holiday in 1994, it called on American to make it a day of service, reflecting the life and teachings of the civil rights leader and peace advocate.
Landenreau pointed out that the Boys & Girls Club serves a wide clientele, so it seemed appropriate that the volunteers came from all sectors of the island.
"This is for the everyday kid on the island," she said.
She has big dreams for the future of the program.
"We want to have such dyanamic, exciting programs, that kids will always want to be part of them," she said. "We're always going to get the 6- to 13-year-olds. They have to go because they need child care. It's when they get old enough to tell their parents, 'I'm OK on my own,' that we want to have something that they want to be a part of."
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