LHS DECA Rakes the Town
Senior Kat Steffen and freshman Mary Steffen rake the lawn of a Sioux Falls citizen.
October 30, 2019
In the advancing chill of Autumn, harsh winds beat brilliant colors down from tree branches and scatter them across browning lawns. And as most homeowners step outside, rakes in hand, to clear their own lawns, Workers on Wheels offers an alternative for those unfit to work themselves.
On Oct. 25 and 26, volunteers for Workers on Wheels’ Rake the Town Event traversed the city of Sioux Falls, offering lawn services for individuals above 60 unable physically or financially to rake their own lawns, or individuals under 60 with a documented physical disability. Groups of volunteers brought rakes, ready to embrace the challenge of leaf-strewn lawns. Among them was LHS’ very own DECA, participating for the first time in a number of years.
“Rake the Town is an important tradition for Lincoln DECA and for me as a person because it’s important to serve back in our community, as, in DECA, we are learning to be leaders in our community,” said senior Kat Steffen.
The DECA students who engaged in the event felt that Rake the Town was a valuable experience and had an enjoyable time participating.
“It’s been a really long time since I’ve raked leaves, but it was actually a lot of fun,” said Steffen. “I remember we’d make these giant piles and we’d put them in these paper bags. And to put more in, you’d have to push leaves down, so [junior] Abbie DeKramer would get in the bag and stand, and we’d have two people on each side of her, and she’d have her hands on their shoulders, and she would just jump like crazy…and she’d go “guys, I’m a cheerleader!”…and that was really funny.”
Rake the Town is an annual event in the city of Sioux Falls, so anyone who wants to give back to the community might want to consider partaking in it next year.
“I think the most rewarding part of participating was getting to help people in our community,” said Steffen. “After we were all done with the first house, this woman came out and she told us that her husband had been in the hospital, had been very sick, and she thanked us and she actually donated to South Dakota DECA, and she took our picture, and she was just so excited, and it made me feel really good about what I’d done.”
