Denver, April 24: A group of seventh graders at Grant Middle School are learning what it means to give back to their communities. On Thursday, April 24, these students came together and made a difference in their communities by preparing three local parks (Platt Park, Harvard Gulch State Home Park, and Harvard Gulch Mini Park, all in Denver) for the summer. These students raked mulch, laid new mulch, picked up trash, and completed other various landscaping tasks to help ready these parks for summer use.

The idea for this project came from the school social worker at Grant, Jo Ellen Fountain. "I wanted these students to do something in their communities so they can learn to take pride where in the places they live," said Fountain when asked for ideas in ways these students could give back. The in-service learning project is a part of the Teach One to Lead One program, which teaches character and leadership skills to middle and high school students. This is done in the context of healthy, mentoring relationships and always with a spirit of adventure and celebration. While the students enjoyed the volunteer experience, one student in particular said, "It felt really good to give back."