WAYLAND, Mich. — A group of student-athletes are out volunteering their time to help clean up some of the mess left by the storms over the weekend.
Mike Doupe, head coach of the Wayland High School football team, says the idea for his athletes to help came to him while cleaning up his own yard.
"I was cleaning up my debris yesterday and I said, 'I should get my guys over here to help with this,'" Doupe said. "Then I got to thinking that there is probably a lot of people in the community that feel the same way."
Doupe and his student-athletes helped clean up several homes in the Wayland area Monday.
FOX 17 caught up with the group at a home on 12th Street.
Will Reurink, a junior at Wayland High School, says he was excited to help when he got the call from his coach.
"We’re just helping out the community because they’ve been really good to us lately. So, we’re just trying to do whatever we can do to help them out," he says.
Doupe says this kind of work is important for his athletes to do. He tells FOX 17, "It's vital. One of the things we always try to do is give back to the community, because they give so much to us. And something as simple as a couple of hours of manual labor is a great way to do that."
The group is using a chainsaw to help clear trees that have fallen. Most of the athletes are helping pull away the piles of debris.
The team says they are happy to help out.
"It's hard work but we’re glad to do it," Reurink says.
