By Angela Lauren KCBY News
Story Published: Sep 19, 2011 at 9:36 AM PST
COOS BAY, Ore.- With a four-day school week now in place for the Coos Bay School District, organizations have stepped up to provide beneficial teen programs at the former school day.
Friday kicked off the first Friday event of a teen volunteer program at the South Coast Food Share.
The Community Action Adventure Program will hold ongoing projects for teens in the community every Friday to help feed children and families on the South Coast.
Madeline Enos with Oregon Coast Community Action said having volunteer time on Fridays works well for both teens and the food bank.
"We specifically chose Fridays because we know a lot of students will have the day off, and we wanted to provide an opportunity for them to do healthy, fun activities with their peers," Enos said. "I think it's a great way to mitigate potential problems with a bunch of people just hanging out with nothing to do on Fridays."
With the Coos Bay School District moving to a four-day school week, Enos and current volunteers hope this will open up a positive avenue for teens to spend their free time.
"It's a way to come and hangout with a really nice group of people and you get to make a difference at the same time," said Kasey Dixson, a Oregon CCA volunteer. "That's a rare opportunity because most organizations, they don't have youth volunteers, and so this is a strictly youth volunteer group."
On Friday, volunteers decorated the South Coast Food Share bus for the Fun Festival Parade this past weekend.
They also sorted food, packed emergency food boxes and snack packs, and helped clean the warehouse.
In the end, their hard work was paid off with some snacks, drinks and free pizza for lunch.
Volunteer hours are every Friday from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m.
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