WOOSTER, Ohio — Severe winter weather prompted hundreds of school closures on Monday, and while some are spending their snow day inside, one high school football team is out helping the community.
The Wooster High School Football team got together to help dig out their community following this weekend's winter storm, which set records across Northeast Ohio.
Players tackled multiple driveways, sidewalks and walkways after a foot of snow fell in Wooster. But for sophomore linebackers Kaden Zimmerer and Owen Bailey, it wasn't a heavy lift.
"I always want to help people, and every opportunity I get, I'll do it," Zimmerer said.
Zimmerer and Bailey were among 20 Wooster football players who spread out to shovel.
"Keep paying it forward to improve the community," Bailey said.
The team assisted senior citizens, such as 75-year-old Dennis Palmer, who has health issues.
"I think it's great. I really do. They must be self-motivated," Palmer said.
School was canceled for both Monday and Tuesday, so the team put out a call to older residents who needed help clearing their driveways. And they are doing it for free.
Once the word spread on social media, more than 100 requests came in, and coach Ray Leek said the players are trying to get to as many as possible.
"This is completely voluntary," Leek said. "We didn't make anybody. They didn't have to show up. It just shows the grit that our kids have and the hard work that they put in, and I'm just proud. It's a life lesson for them to give back. They could be doing a hundred other things, but they showed up here to help the community."
The players said the homeowners' reactions make it all worth it.
"I have an elderly grandma who can't plow her driveway, so I do hers, and it's like, it just makes them super happy and grateful, and that feels amazing," Bailey said.
For Palmer, a class of 1968 Wooster High School graduate, the gesture warmed his heart on a cold day, and he wants the community to take notice of the teens.
"They should be proud of them," Palmer said. "They should be damn proud of them."
With even colder temperatures coming on Tuesday, the teens plan to venture back out to Wooster neighborhoods to continue shoveling for those who need it.
"All the help makes this go by so much faster," Zimmerer said.
