CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Kremlin kids learn value of volunteering, raise money for a summer cause

Enid News & Eagle - 6/14/2018

June 14--KREMLIN, Okla. -- It was an early 8:30 morning, but the kids with the WildHorse Gang in Kremlin did not feel the lack of sleep.

The air was a warm 73 degrees, and work made sweat prickle on the backs of the young workers' necks. The crashing and crumpling of 2,000 pounds of aluminum cans prompted 7-year-old Taylor Dodes to slap her yellow-gloved hands over her ears.

The WildHorse Gang is a Christian organization for kids who do good deeds and volunteer in the Kremlin community. In the Aluminum Can Roundup, the children collect aluminum cans and turn them in for money. This year marks the organization's 25th anniversary.

The money will go toward the Stewart Pool, which is owned by the Kremlin-Hillsdale Public Schools. The money will be used for upkeep like painting and hiring lifeguards.

"If we didn't have the pool in Kremlin, there would be nothing for the kids to do in the summertime," Gini Zaloudek, founder of the WildHorse Gang, said.

Zaloudek said the cans are worth 63 cents per pound, which puts their expected profit at $1,260.

"Everybody needs to learn how to volunteer," Zaloudek said. "Kids get in trouble when they have nothing else to do. Volunteering builds self-esteem."

Zaloudek said she thought children should be taught the value of volunteering while they are young. It is harder to change people when they are older, she said.

Taylor said she volunteers with the WildHorse Gang because "it's doing good service."

Zaloudek encouraged people who want to donate to give money directly to Kremlin-Hillsdale Public Schools because the WildHorse Gang is not a nonprofit.

"But make it out to the school slash WildHorse Gang so I can send you a thank you note," Zaloudek said.

To contact the school, call (580) 874-2283.

For information about the WildHorse Gang, go to the group's Facebook page.

___

(c)2018 the Enid News & Eagle (Enid, Okla.)

Visit the Enid News & Eagle (Enid, Okla.) at www.enidnews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.