Westborough – At the fourth annual Rangers Give Back Day of Community Service Aug. 23, athlete volunteers from all of Westborough High School’s fall sports teams were assigned jobs throughout the town.
Athletes from soccer, cross country, football, field hockey, volleyball, cheerleading and boys’ hockey received bright orange t-shirts when they met in the morning at the lower lot of the high school. Then they were given their assignment and dispersed; some went with groups in cars while others took a bus.
“Some of the Rangers would be helping out with mulching, sorting literacy folders, having lunch with residents of the Beaumont Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center, mulching at [Annie E.] Fales Elementary School or Mill Pond, sorting student headphones, putting together first day packets and staff handbooks at [Elsie A.] Hastings and [J. Harding] Armstrong [schools], assembling flower vases and delivering them to the secretaries of each school and more,” said Olivia Natale, who has been leading this event.
Many local businesses, organizations and volunteers support the Westborough athletes throughout the year, and the event allows the athletes to show their gratitude.
Johanna DiCarlo, Westborough High School’s athletic director, said she could not be prouder of all of the Rangers athletes for their volunteer efforts.
“The event is the highlight of the year for me. Rangers Give Back is a way for our student athletes to say ‘thank you’ for all of the support the community provides them,” she said. “Olivia Natale and the student leaders do a tremendous job of organizing this event. It really is a special way to start off the season.”
Members of the boys’ cross country team were assigned a mulching and weeding at the Senior Center on Rogers Road.
“This day helps us to come together as a team. We can go out into the Westborough community and show everyone how much we care about their support. We want them to know that we are very grateful,” said senior Connor Schoen.
Natale, a senior and member of the cross country and indoor/outdoor track team, will be “passing the baton” to sophomore soccer player Bethany Woodcock to organize next year’s event.
“This has been such a great experience for me,” Natale said. “Our hope is for our volunteers to grow as teams through service and realize that this day is not just a way of improving a college transcript but, in fact, a way to show our gratitude and acknowledgement of the community’s tremendous impact on Rangers’ Athletics.”
