WAFB Channel 9, Baton Rouge, LA |City Year volunteers ready to serve in East Baton Rouge

City Year volunteers ready to serve in East Baton Rouge

By Tyana Williams - bio | email

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - 73 men and woman have pledged to spend more than 124,000 hours making Baton Rouge better.  "City Year" is nationwide service organization.  Friday afternoon they kicked off their new year to help some local schools.

At Progress Elementary, the sound of balls bouncing on the basketball court has been replaced by the sounds of paint cans popping open and tape going down.  With paint rollers in hand, a group of City Year Corp members begin rolling out another year of partnering with local East Baton Rouge schools.

"Home of the famous soaring Hawks.  I want to thank you all for coming out and doing this for our boys and girls.  We're so excited," one of the school teachers says.

These workers are from all over the country.  Caroline Alpert is from New York.  She says before she focuses on a career in law, she wants to share her love of learning with other kids.

"So I figured I'd spend some time doing some groundwork," Alpert says. Literally.  Alpert is repainting the basketball court.

"Most schools we're at are definitely schools in under privileged areas.  Need as much volunteer help as possible."

Toward the front of the school volunteers are busy with hammers and nails.

"We're making all the benches, we're digging all the holes, we're making the concrete," says Timia Williams.  She says her group is building an outdoor class area for students.

"Think they're gonna love it. In the classroom you can only talk so loud." Williams says the outdoor classroom will allow the students to really let their imaginations and creativity run wild.

Come Monday, the volunteers will move inside the classrooms to help with tutoring and teaching.

"See the kids on Monday, they look like they do not want to be here.  And we're like 'Pump, pump, pump it up!  Pump that Progress spirit up!"

Sounds like an exciting year of service is about to take off.

Corp members are between 17 and 24 years old.  For the next ten months they'll serve as mentors, tutors and after school leaders at Progress, Magnolia Woods Elementary and Glen Oaks Park Elementary as well as Broadmoor Middle School.

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