Et cetera : NCCC Maple 2 honors heroes on 9/11; help with house, garden

David, Dani and Katie celebrate with volunteers the completion of the community garden.

Katie plants a flower in the freshly mulched garden.

By David Chernyshov

Maple 2 participated and helped plan a Day of Remembrance and Service on September 11. The day was meant to honor the people who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, and also the men and women who are serving America today.

The team prepared for this event by handing out flyers door-to-door throughout the community and chatting with local citizens about the upcoming event. Maple 2 also assisted in planning the day so that they could serve as assistants throughout the entirety of the event, making sure everything was running smoothly.

The first part of the morning consisted of signing people in and then participating in an opening ceremony. The ceremony started out with the pledge of allegiance led by one of the team’s members. Beyond that, there were a few readings, musical selections, a firefighter’s real life testimony and a speech by the CEO of the team’s wonderful sponsoring organization, Habitat for Humanity – Mid Ohio.

The team then got right into the service and worked the whole day with the dozens of the amazing volunteers that came out. Part of the team assisted in the building of a Habitat home while the other team members worked at a local community garden. The team planted flowers as well as created a border and mulched the entirety of the garden. The team finished the day by getting to know the volunteers and reflecting on the experience.