RETURNING THE FAVOR

CLEAN UP TEAM FOR THE DAY
By: Brittney Parker

While driving through Monmouth early Saturday morning, between the neighborhood garage sales and children playing in the parks, the Monmouth College football team could be seen raking leaves, picking up sticks, planting flowers, and trimming back trees.

This past weekend marked the football team’s second annual community clean up. The players signed up in groups of three and four and were assigned to work at one of sixteen places. Property owners contacted Coach Steve Bell to request clean up crews. As far as what the players are required to do at the homes, Bell said, “It all depends on the owners. Some just need yard work done, like planting flowers, and some ask them to move heavy furniture.”

The player’s were not necessarily finished after they finished working at one house. Senior Trevor Newton explained that “We have to call coach and ask him where to go next. He sends us to a house nearby to help those guys out. We really aren’t done until noon, and there’s no slacking off.”

“It’s cool to be able to help a community that has always supported us. It’s just another way for us to be able to give back,“ according to junior Fletcher Morgan. Morgan raked a yard full of leaves then moved heavy items from the basement to outside. “The bags of homemade cookies we got were a nice surprise in the morning... definitively got me moving,” says Morgan while eating a handful of chocolate chip cookies during a break.

Sophomore Corey Bishop said, “It kinda brings us closer and makes us work on teamwork, which shows when we get on the field. We have to learn to work together and communicate effectively. I guess that shows in the success we’ve had for in past years.” He goes on to say, “Even though it’s a lot about football, it helps us realize that we don’t just go to Monmouth College for football, there is a lot more to it.”

A major reason for the clean up within the community is to do just that, show the players that it is important to help out and give back to the people that support them.