During the first week of April, 19 high school students from Orcas Christian School spent three days working in the Yakima Nation near Wapato, Wash., assisting families catch up on household chores. They helped with splitting and stacking firewood, limbing trees, tearing down dilapidated decks and steps, extreme yard clean-up and recycle, stump removal, weed-wacking and lawn mowing. The students just happened to be participating in these community projects during the warmest spring days on record for the Yakima area.

“Service is an important element in the curriculum at Orcas Christian High School,” say school officials. “Having opportunities close by and easy to access are an intrinsic piece in developing character that will encourage positive change in our personal lives and the lives of others in our community.”