Member of the youth group at The River church in Lapel recently helped a couple by cleaning up their yard. Pictured are (front row, from left) Ava Zdanowski, Chloe Bilskie, Lila Neal, Kendall Novak, Payton Bowman and Nash Joslin; (back row) Jodi Neal, Hudson West, Braedyn Dugger, Cooper Bilskie, Amy Jones and Madeline Bowman.
Submitted photo
LAPEL — Bonnie Berninger of Lapel said she received a call prior to Thanksgiving from a church youth group offering to lend a hand with any chores at home.
She said she and husband Steve have had back issues recently and mentioned they could use help cleaning up the yard.
That was all she needed to say.
A group a dozen strong from The River in Lapel showed up for duty, including leaders Jodi Neal and Amy Jones.
“With rakes and leaf blowers, they began to go to work, and in less than an hour they had (all the leaves) at the curb, at which time the town employees came through and sucked them up,” Bonnie said.
“The Berningers would like to thank these great kids and leaders for their kindness and service.”
Neal said the effort was the first time the youth group has gone out to help in the community since COVID-19 put things on hold.
Now seemed like the right time to begin anew, she said.
“It was just the holidays in general, and knowing we have people in the community who can’t just get out there and do these things on their own,” she said.