Students work to help better community

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - Students and staff at Electra ISD gathered today for “The Big Event,” the largest one-day service project for students in the nation where they come together to help better the community.

Ted West, Electra ISD superintendent, didn’t expect the turnout for Saturday to be as big as it was.

“We had over 100 students show up this morning wanting to be a part of this program, which is encouraging and makes you feel good,” West said.

It may be hard to believe that students voluntarily woke up on a Saturday morning to work for no extra credit, but Rylee Robey, a sophomore at Electra High School, thinks it’s a reward in itself.

“What better way to help give back than to help clean and give the beauty back to Electra,” Robey said.

The day consisted of yard work, fence repairs, cleaning, painting, and much more, but the students didn’t view it as a day full of work.

“It’s fun, you know because you don’t get to do this stuff very often, and then whenever you do, on the rare occasion, it’s just fun,” Brayd Huffstutler said, an Electra ISD student.

The students did more than help the town; they also helped the elderly people. Jessie Mening, a senior student at Electra high school, believes it’s important to give back to them.

“We have a lot of older community, so not many of them can get out and fix up their houses, plant flowers, so I think its important to get out and help with those older people,” Mening said.

Nicole Ferrel, a teacher at Electra high school, believes programs like these will help the community in more considerable ways than just appearance.

“I do think that when you give, you get it back tenfold in positive ways not only back to yourself, but it’s a domino effect where then they turn around, and they do something good for somebody else,” Ferrel said.

This was the first big event at Electra ISD, and west hopes to make it an annual program for the district.

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