Volunteers Spruce Up WHS For Start Of School

When staff showed up at Woonsocket High School at 777 Cass Ave. to prepare for the start of school, they saw a front entrance that was overgrown and unkempt.

"We just noticed that it could use some help," said Kris Wright, CCF After School Site Coordinator at WHS. So, she, April Seppala, Woonsocket Project: Night Vision and Karen Barbosa, ELO Coordinator at WHS, organized a pre-opening landscaping treatment for the school's front entrance, enlisting the help of several young people to boot.

Wright also secured a generous donation of mulch from Lowes of Woonsocket - 25 bags at $4 per bag. "At first I was just looking at stuff," Wright said, then she decided to ask if the store would donate some material to help them shape up the front entrance. They did. "They were really awesome," Wright said.

Barbosa was helping to cut back one shrub when they found a surprise — a memorial. The rectangular six-inch by two-foot rose granite plaque reads, "Dedicated in loving memory of Jenny Sengthavisouk, 1981-1997, Human Rights Souad." 

The team of volunteers began their work at 10 a.m. and were scheduled to continue until 1 p.m. before stopping work. All but WHS custodian Bob Hoseason, whose shift began at 1 p.m.