Of all the goings on during Perry High School’s Homecoming week, none brings the students more fully into the community outside the school than the annual Volunteer Day outreach activities.
From repairing veterans’ medallions in Violet Hill Cemetery and working with Habitat for Humanity to spruce up home sites in Perry to assisting at Perry’s long-term care facilities and joining in pet care and pet washing, nearly all PHS students participate in the once-a-year exercise in giving back.
The brainchild of retired PHS language arts instructor Linda Kaufman, Volunteer Day emphasizes tidying up the grounds around all three schools and in other public and private spaces around town. This year’s activities appeared to emphasize outdoor activities, with students seen mowing lawns, pulling weeds and cleaning up open areas and parking lots — with the popular dog washes thrown in.
Wednesday’s perfect fall weather was well suited to the volunteers and a fitting prelude to the Perry High School Homecoming parade at 6 p.m. Students were seen busily volunteering at the Perry Public Library and other downtown grounds as well as the McCreary Community Building and at PHS.
