Sault College students help seniors, connect with the community

Dozens of good deeds were done throughout the Sault on Saturday, as Sault College students took part in the annual Trades Day of Caring.

The yearly program matches students in the trades with local seniors to complete tasks they may not be able to do on their own.

The yearly fall tasks of winterizing before snow is on the ground can be a pain, but the jobs are even greater for many seniors living in the sault.

"Getting older, I can't manage my yard as much as I much as I used to, it makes it more difficult,” said Debbie Corbett, who yard was cleaned by students.

“I have no younger siblings, and I have no nieces and nephews in town anymore -- they've all relocated. So I have to ask for help and proudly say 'please help.'"

For the last 15 years, Sault College students working in the trades have done exactly that -- help.

Most of the work consists of raking leaves, but students learn valuable lessons along the way.

"I think this kind of introduces you to how it's going to be in the field, interacting with clients or customers, and getting along with your classmates or coworkers to finish the project that you're working on," said Farrah Farstead, a first-year civil engineering student.

In all, 45 Sault College students signed up for this year's event, more than triple compared with last year.

The students tackled projects at 29 homes across the city, with a lot of planning done beforehand to ensure they were able to complete every job on their list.

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"Planning, project management, we try and tie it into some of the learning outcomes in our courses and it seems to be working well so far,” said Marc Pilon of Sault College.

Sault College students have been taking part in the event since 2010.