By Brendan O.
Four Talbot House students were chosen by Jan Cheripko, English teacher and Talbot House family leader, to help out with the building of a playground in Cheripko’s community of Bethany, Pa.
Cheripko is on the community board for Bethany, and asked the other board members if he could bring a few students from the Family Foundation School to help. The other board members were not particularly enthusiastic about the idea, but Cheripko persisted and convinced them that it was a good idea.
Cheripko had the students that he wanted to bring in mind when the idea came to him. These students were Austin C., Brendan O., Evan P., and Matt V.
The students worked hard and by the end of the day the playground was close to completion. This was a great opportunity for them to do some service and charity work. The other people from the community who helped build the playground were surprised at the enthusiasm and work ethic of the four FFS students. Cheripko was pleased with how hard the students worked.
Afterwards, Cheripko took the students out for pizza in Honesdale, along with his wife and daughter. After dinner at Elegante’s Restaurant they went out for ice cream and took a walk around Honesdale.
“Building the playground was a memorable experience; we all went into it with positive attitudes. It was very a rewarding feeling to see how much we accomplished at the end of the day,” said Austin. All of the students agreed that it was a great chance for them to practice the Twelve Steps and do something unselfish for others.
