Mormon Teens Clean Books – “It felt great to serve others. The books really needed cleaning, and I’m sure the kids will enjoy their reading experience much more now!”

LDS Teens Pay It Forward

Article by Teri Cooper

Combine 12,000 baby wipes, 290 teenagers, 7 school libraries full of well-used books, and you have the 2013 annual youth conference for the Santa Margarita Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The youth conference theme was “Pay It Forward!” and teens (age 14–18) began preparing months ago. Each youth was asked to commit to perform 75 acts of service in 75 days in their homes, schools, and communities. They came together on April 19–21 for a culminating weekend of community service.

Photographer:  Annette Jones
Left to Right: Sydney Schelin (Coto de Caza), Tyler Feist (Foothill Ranch) and Abby Allen (RSM) cleaning books at the Melinda Heights Elementary school library

On Saturday morning, the youth collected over 5,000 cans of food in conjunction with Families Forward, a local food bank.

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That afternoon, armed with baby wipes and paper towels, they spent two and a half hours cleaning hardcover library books at seven different Saddleback Valley Unified School District (SVUSD) schools: RSM Intermediate, Robinson Ranch, Trabuco Mesa, Cello Vista, Melinda Heights, Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills Elementary. “It was an outstanding show of support for the local schools and libraries. We so appreciate the community partnership,” commented Tammy Blakely, Director of Pupil Services at SVUSD.

Photographer:  Brad Cooper
Left to Right: Brooke Tobler (RSM), Paige Sanford (Mission Viejo) and Maddy Hannah (Mission Viejo) cleaning books at the Foothill Ranch Elementary School Library

The teens cleaned thousands of books during the project. “It felt great to serve others. The books really needed cleaning, and I’m sure the kids will enjoy their reading experience much more now!” said 17-year-old Blake Miyahara from Rancho Santa Margarita, a conference participant. In summing up the youth conference, Teri Cooper, a church youth leader from Dove Canyon, reflected, “Activities like these help teens become contributing citizens in their communities. They’re going to remember this weekend for a long time.”

Karen Lake
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Media Director: Santa Margarita Stake
http://www.mormons.org