Mar. 23, 2007, The Wichita Eagle
BY AMANDA O'TOOLE
The Wichita Eagle
Some students gave up family visits. Others skipped senior trips. All were dusty and dirty by the end the day Thursday at the Kansas Aviation Museum, where six students spent their spring break volunteering as a part of the United Way Youth Days of Caring.
Throughout the city, more than 250 students from the Wichita area dedicated their breaks to community service projects.
The six who spent their week at the museum dusted, cleaned and learned a little bit of history.
"I try to keep them interested in it," said Craig Parsons, an assistant archivist at the museum.
"They come here to work -- they mop and dust and after a while, it can get to them."
So while they clean, Parsons tells them stories about the planes and how they've affected his life and Wichita history.
And as he shares his passion of aviation history, the museum starts to gleam.
"This saves me a lot of time," he said. "What they can do in three days, I can do in three months."
On Thursday afternoon, Amy Sinclair and Michael Staab tackled a year's worth of dust on an F-16 simulator on the second floor. Dozens of crumpled, dirtied paper towels surrounded them as they talked and cleaned.
"I've done this the past two or three years," said Staab, a senior at Maize High School. "It's a lot better helping someone than doing something for yourself."
Down the hall, Andover sophomore Hannah Schaake used an inch-wide paint brush to clean off tiny model airplanes.
As she placed the last plane back on the shelf, two of the other volunteers -- one from the Independent School and another from East High School -- joined her.
"Sure, you wait until I'm done to show up," she said with a laugh.
One of the benefits of the Youth Days of Caring, Schaake said, was meeting new people.
While the cleaning continued, the students joked and laughed together like they were lifelong friends.
"It's nice to give back to the community," she said. "You can learn about the history of the town at the same time." |
