With vacuum cleaners, rakes and other tools in hand, an army of youthful volunteers from The Bear Creek School in Redmond fanned out across the Eastside and into Seattle on March 11, for an annual Community Service Day.

Teams of middle school and upper school students from the non-denominational Christian school carpooled or rode buses to 11 work sites and spent four hours at each location, pitching in as needed.

Here in Redmond, Bear Creek kids cleared invasive plants at Farrel-McWhirter Park, visited with senior citizens at Aegis of Redmond and did housekeeping at the First Baptist Church on Education Hill.

Supervising a team of upper school girls at the church, Bear Creek advisory teacher Linda Graham summarized, “There are many small churches that need help. This is basically their spring cleaning. And we want kids to be of humble service, to realize that no one is too good to scrub a toilet.”

Cleaning bathrooms and the kitchen at First Baptist Church were a few of the chores the teens accomplished. They also washed windows and polished the woodwork in the sanctuary.

Wielding a dust mop, Bear Creek sophomore Haley Peterson admitted, “I’ve never really cleaned at home before. This is my first time.” Having tried it, she noticed, “a little bit of work makes a huge difference.”

Yet Peterson added that she often does other forms of service, such as feeding the homeless with a group from her church.

“We go to Seattle, near the Aquarium, pray for them and have conversations with them. Hearing their stories is really awesome,” she said.

Reaching out to the less fortunate is consistent with Bear Creek’s Statement of Community Expectations, which reads, in part, “We believe that every human life is sacred, created in the image of God, and therefore possesses dignity and intrinsic worth. … We believe each individual is to be treated with respect and appreciated for his or her unique contributions to our school, community and to the world.”

Graham explained that First Baptist Church Pastor Doug Johnston has coached at The Bear Creek School and that the church did a huge favor for the school when completion of their current campus on 208th Avenue Northeast was delayed.

“We moved into our new building in 2000, later than planned. This church allowed us to put portables on their property at the eleventh hour and so we have a symbiotic relationship. They were so gracious to us, it’s a good thing to give back,” she said.

But also, Graham commented, “When you’re in a private school, sometimes you’re in kind of a bubble. This is a great way for kids to see what the needs are in the community.”

Additional work sites for the Bear Creek School’s Community Service Day included Union Gospel Mission, Northwest Harvest-Cherry St. Food Bank and Seattle Braille Library in Seattle; Camp Gilead and Girl Scout Camp in Carnation; Camp Sambica and Jubilee Reach Center in Bellevue; and Eagles Nest in Mukilteo.

For more information about The Bear Creek School, visit www.tbcs.org.