Despite a slight drizzle and gloomy skies, a small group of community members gathered at Ida B. Wells High School on May 17, 2025. As early as 9 a.m., volunteers arrived at the school campus and pulled on their gardening gloves.
Members of the Greater Portland Bible Church, community parents and IBW students all attended to help clean up the outdoor areas of IBW.
Robby Scharf, teacher at IBW and this year’s leader, kicked off the event with a quick announcement and a thank you to all the community members who were in attendance. Soon after, everyone got to work. Rakes and shovels were picked up and leaf blowers and edge trimmers were powered up.
Weeds were pulled and shrubs trimmed. Community members worked all around the school, raking around the IBW Outdoor Pool and weeding in the flower beds of the school garden. By 12 p.m. the campus had a tidier look to it.
Photo credits to Victor Schulhoff
After three hours of work, everyone sat down for a nice slice of pizza, an equal trade for the strenuous physical work. An air of satisfaction and quiet harmony stood in the room as people ate into their slices.
Rafala Cerecer, a volunteer and member of the Greater Portland Bible Church, was tired after her hard work, but felt proud of the group’s work as a whole.
While they sat and ate together, everyone pondered their morning of work and what else hadn’t been finished.
It could be easily seen that a large portion of the school had a significant difference before and after, but the short period of time wasn’t enough.
There is always more work to be done around the campus at IBW. It’s important to remember that community cleanups are for maintaining the school grounds and need to be done often. All of the volunteers did essential work to keep the areas surrounding IBW clean and manageable.
Cleaning helps the area stay nice and approachable for everyone. “It’s not just the people who go to school here and the people who work here, it’s the community at large,” said Scharf.
“It’s the front porch of your house, front porch of the school, it’s kinda the first image you have of the school.”
Just by having a more appealing school to look at and represent the community speaks for itself. Community clean up days aim to build a stronger community because it brings people from all over SW Portland together, in the hopes of bettering one’s school.
Photo credits to Victor Schulhoff
John Rawlins, a parent at IBW and third-time attendee, learned about this year’s cleanup through the IBW school newsletter, The Guardian Gazette. He said that organizing and holding community events, “Shows pride in the school and gets the parents and students engaged.”
The majority of volunteers were adults, with a select few students getting involved on a Saturday morning.
But for Cerecer, having a strong sense of community and volunteering gives back to the students.
Having a cleaner school can help make a kid’s day better or feel more at home, “I volunteered here [at] the school, because young people need…different help…[they are in a] different situation, maybe young people don’t have a home, or don’t have money for a different school,” said Cerecer.
The real issue is showing the students how much the community helps them and wants to support them. Along with an effective way for students to appreciate this is by bringing them out to community events.
Rawlins said a way to get more students out could be to, “Maybe some of the athletic teams could be approached to see if they wanted to do it as a group.”
He drew up a similar program to the Christmas Tree Sales, which IBW holds every winter to raise funds for the booster.
Adapting different ways to communicate to students could also be key. Instead of just advertising with the newsletter, maybe posting something on social media could warrant more student attendance. Or possibly partnering with school leadership or other community action clubs.
“Be active in the community, be an active participant. Seek out ways to volunteer, seek out ways to not necessarily have an impact, but just do your part,” said Scharf.
He puts a heavy emphasis on ‘just saying yes’. If a club, organization, person or community asks you to do something, Scharf said the best thing to do is “Say yes.”
Not only does volunteering benefit the school and its community, but it also benefits the person participating. Physically and mentally, you’re setting yourself up to feel good about yourself and see the true impact you’re putting out there.
