Tea Area Honor Society helps out local seniors

By Garrett Ammesmaki,

Editor

Four Tea Area National Honor Society students pose for a photograph during Friday’s Rake the Town event in Tea. The event saw around 20 National Honor Society students help rake five lawns. Photo: Courtesy of Ruby Zuraff

Tea Area National Honor Society Students volunteered with the Tea Chamber of Development for the city’s first Rake the Town event last week.

Around 20 Honor Society students raked five lawns for seniors on Friday, Oct. 28. A Sioux Falls nonprofit called Active Generations reached out the the City of Tea, and the event was put on in collaboration with the Tea Chamber for Development.

While Tea is relatively young in terms of residents, President of the Tea Chamber for Development Ruby Zuraff said the event is important for senior members of the community.

“I know the median age of Tea is 28, but there are still seniors in our community, so it’s great we can do this for them,” said Zuraff.

One of the yards they raked was for longtime Tea resident Diane Jewett. Students collected around 22 bags of leaves from her corner lot alone.

“My trees are very old and very full of leaves,” said Jewett. “They’re maple trees, mostly.”

The 71-year-old usually needs to have her yard raked four or five times due to the leaves falling from her trees at different times, and she is thankful for the hard work of Tea Area Honor Society students.

Honor Society students have done Rake the Lawn events in the past, but they usually do it in Sioux Falls, according to Amber Olafson, advisor for the Tea Area National Honor Society.

Honor society students have a certain number of service hours they are required to take part in every year. This year, they volunteered at the Sioux Falls marathon, as well as the Tea Rake the Town event, but students also get individual hours from tutoring, mentoring or volunteering with a variety of different organizations.

“Anytime someone reaches out, we’ll put something together and try to help,” said Olafson.

The chamber plans to take part in Rake the Town again next year.