Volunteers’ efforts on a cold day are heartwarming on Owatonna

With temperatures hovering around the freezing point and the ground damp from recent rainfall, it wasn’t the day to be working outside, raking up leaves. But we are certain that the kindness of their actions provided volunteers on Saturday with the sort of warmth that Mother Nature failed to provide.
The volunteers, more than 145 of them, were out in numbers as a part of this year’s Fall Cleanup. The yearly event, coordinated by Healthy Seniors of Steele County, is one of two such events held every year — the other is held in the spring — to assist senior citizens in our community with jobs around the house that the seniors are no longer able to do themselves. And that meant this year, as it does every autumn, a lot of raking of leaves.
Although there were volunteers of all ages doing the work, one truly inspiring aspect of the Fall Cleanup is the number of youth involved in the effort. There were Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, church groups and a contingent of students from St. Mary’s School, just to name a few. To see the youth of our community helping out the seniors is a great thing.
It is said that the way to judge the strength and depth of a community is to look at how that community treats the most vulnerable within its city limits. Among those who are most vulnerable are the senior citizens, whose age and physical well-being prevents them from doing tasks around the home that they used to do themselves. That being said, then Owatonna and Steele County must be judged as strong and deep communities because of events such as Saturday’s Fall Cleanup.
A tip of the hat goes out to Healthy Seniors for coordinating the event every spring and fall. Their efforts at finding and placing the volunteers where they are needed most are most appreciated. And, of course, thanks go out as well to the volunteers, without whom the cleanup would not be possible. Their work should warm the hearts of us all.

Owatonna People’s Press editorials are the opinion of the Press editorial board. Other editorials, columns, letters and cartoons appearing on this page are the opinions of the authors and artists and not necessarily the People’s Press.

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