Make A Difference Day

For Batavia High School seniors, today was Make a Difference Day, the day seniors fan out around the community completing a variety of volunteer projects for community organizations.

Photos are from the seniors' clean-up project at the Batavia Cemetery.

Seniors also helped out at:

• All Babies Cherished Genesee ARC (participate in activities with individuals with disabilities) 
• Batavia First United Methodist Church (organizing and possible yard work)
• Genesee Cancer Assistance (organize office inside the hospital)
• Cornell Cooperative Extension (recording books for kids, assembling soil kits, organizing storeroom)
• Crossroads House (organizing kitchen cupboards, general indoor cleaning)
• Batavia First United Methodist Church (organizing and yard work)
• Genesee County Park (yard work at the outdoor learning center)
• Genesee County Youth Bureau (decorating Halloween bags)
• Genesee Orleans Art Council (help with artistic mural painting, landscaping, cleaning, wall painting)
• Habitat for Humanity (construction work)
• Holland Land Office (yard work) 
• Kiwanis Park
• Manor House (gardening and landscaping)
• Batavia Peace Garden (yard work, painting)

It's Make a Difference Day for Batavia High School seniors with students and teachers taking on several community projects, including cleanup at the Peace Garden despite the rain.

Top photo: Leah Wroten. Second photo, Wroten along with Carolena Williams, Gabrielle Lawrence, Andrea Kraus, Katie Metzler and Ethan DiLaura.

At the Batavia Agri-Business Child Development Center on Brooklyn Avenue, Ron Williams, Alesia Schmidt and Sherry Crumity.

Marcello Harris, Jacob Bondaruk and Joshua Wasiulewski clean toys at the Batavia Agri-Business Child Development Center.

Jacob Crimes cleaning a display case at the Holland Land Office Museum.

Charlie Burton and Ayden Dowd-Devay paint a door at HLOM, while in the background Eddie Goodenough vacuums. 

Press release:

Make a Difference Day for all Batavia High School seniors will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 16.

They will participate in the annual Make a Difference Day community service project in various nonprofit agencies throughout the community. 

Participating agencies include: All Babies Cherished, Arc of Genesee Orleans Rainbow Preschool, Batavia Agri-Business Child Development, Batavia Housing Authority, Batavia Peace Garden, City of Batavia Youth Bureau, Crossroads House, Genesee County Parks, Genesee County Youth Bureau, Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council, Habitat for Humanity, Holland Land Office Museum, NYS Veterans’ Home, Premier Genesee Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, United Memorial Medical Center, VA WNY Healthcare System of Batavia, YMCA, YWCA Children’s Center, and YWCA of Genesee County.

Batavia City Schools is dedicated to helping their over 140 seniors learn and develop the importance of giving back to their own community while helping to foster civic responsibility. This is an integral part of their Batavia High School academic curriculum, and is a component of their graduation requirements.

Above photo: Taiyo Iburi-Bethel working at the Habitat for Humanity job site on East Main Street in Batavia.

Submitted photos and press release:

Above photo: Kate Folger is busy at the Habitat for Humanity job site on East Main Street.

Above photo: Elise Hoerbelt weeding at Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council.

Photo above: Alex Christensen making decorations for a Halloween party.

Above photo from left: Felicity Anderson, Karissa Kesler, Shay Kilner and Tracy Lin at Premier Genesee Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation setting up for games with residents.

Above photo from left: Jocelyn Castaneda, Elizabeth Cohen and Nia Ross helping out at the YMCA Preschool.

Above photo from left: Amanda Jackson, Hannah Finkney, Garrett Harloff, Damien Sprague, Tom Ognibene, Anthony McMaster and Cristina Kolberg helped with yard work at the VA Medical Center.