LDS youth group will give Saint Martin’s a
spring cleaning
May 5, 2005
Lacey, Wash. – Saint Martin’s College is about to get
an extreme spring makeover, thanks to more than 200 teens from the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who plan to clean up the
campus Saturday, May 14.
Volunteers plan to paint fire lane curbs, repair
several back trails and restore a garden once used by the monks at Saint
Martin’s Abbey, event organizer David Warning said. For the past several
years, LDS teenagers from the Greater Olympia Area have volunteered for
projects at local schools, parks and hospitals. This year, the Saint
Martin’s effort is scheduled as part of a youth conference taking place
May 13-14. Volunteers range from 12 to 18 in age.
“We’re trying to teach our kids the importance of
service to others,” Warning said.
Warning said the youth group decided to spend a
Saturday beautifying Saint Martin’s 300-acre campus after speaking with
Prof. Godfrey Ellis, who teaches clinical psychology at the college and
who also attends services at the Olympia stake.
“It’s a very nice marriage,” Ellis said. “The college
gets the assistance it needs and the youth get a chance to look beyond
themselves and give to others.”
David R. Spangler, the college’s president, said,
“We’re delighted that the group has chosen to dedicate their time and
energy to beautifying our campus. We have always enjoyed sharing the
campus’ natural beauty with the community, and we truly appreciate and
admire not only the efforts of these young people, but also the spirit
of service and caring that motivates them.”
Saint Martin’s is an independent, Roman Catholic
coeducational college founded by the Benedictine Order. About 1,050
students are enrolled on its main campus and about 600 more in programs
at the college’s extension campuses at Fort Lewis Army Post, McChord Air
Force Base and Olympic College.
For more information, please call John Saffell at the
Lacey stake, 360-459-1407.
John Saffell
public affairs director, LDS Lacey stake
360-459-1407
John DeWeese
Office of Communication
360-486-8857;
jdeweese@stmartin.edu