Oregon Teens Spend Spring Break Cleaning Up Modesto
MODESTO (CBS13) — More than two-dozen teenagers from Oregon have made Modesto their spring break destination to take on projects the city doesn't have the time or resources to address alone.
The teens from Salem make Modesto their spring break destination every year.
"I like the town," said first-year volunteer Michael Bulls. "I love the weather. It's a lot different than up in Oregon."
But it's a working vacation.
"It's usually a lot of yard work and city block clean ups," Morning Star Community Church volunteer Porschla Scheuble said.
Modesto churches and the Morning Star Community Church in Salem have a partnership running 26 years strong. Youth from the church come down every year to help.
"We just happened to click really well with Modesto. We feel for what's going on here. Our pastor believes in it," Scheuble said.
Beth Lippert with Modesto Code Enforcement is more than happy to have the volunteers.
"We usually tackle some of the jobs that are hard to get to and it's hard to have volunteers do. We try to get the approaches and places where people come in, so when they see Modesto, it looks positive," she said.
The city has a list of projects waiting for the volunteers when they arrive, like clearing out vacant lots to reduce fire hazard threats this summer. City officials estimate these children will put in about 400 hours of community service.
"We get through it super fast, because we have all of these people working their tails off," Bulls said.
It's a short week, but one both the Oregon volunteers and the city look forward to each year.