Boston College students spend spring break volunteering in Wythe County

Spring break is anything but a break for the 21 Boston College students visiting our area.

Instead of partying during their time off from school, they’re volunteering.

They spent the day cleaning out the old fire department in Barren Springs.

It’s a job that goes a lot faster if you have a lot of hands.
   
“I’m very, very excited,“ said Sam Crawford who is with Neighbor 2 Neighbor, the community group that’s hosting the students while they’re in the town. “This group is one of the best groups I’ve ever had.“

“What they’ve done in a day it would probably take a couple of people a week to do.“

It’s work the students say they don’t mind doing at all.

“I don’t think of this as work,“ said Matt Grover, one of the student volunteers. “I think of this as a project we’re all just working on.“

This isn’t the first time volunteers from Boston College have volunteered their time in Barren Springs.
   
According to Crawford, a group has been coming here every year for the past four years. “I think it’s the community interaction. We have a lot as you’ve seen, a lot of people in the community that come out and support them.“

The students are members of the Appalachia Volunteers Program at Boston College. Every year, the program sends hundreds of students to volunteer in different areas.

The students are leaving Barren Springs tomorrow to head back home.

In addition to cleaning the old fire house, they also shoveled snow out of driveways, painted houses and cleaned Fort Chiswell High School.