Penn, local kids clean up area

Taking advantage of Saturday's sunny weather, students at Lea Middle School and members of the Penn community gave the area around the school a good "Spring Clean." The cleanup -- held around Lea's 47th and Locust streets location -- gave middle school students involved with Penn Kite and Key's Step One and Penntoring tutor programs an opportunity to spend time with their mentors outside of the classroom. Using brooms and shovels to pick up litter and trash, about 25 representatives of various Penn community service groups under the organizational umbrella of Civic House helped beautify the residential neighborhood in the first of what is hoped to become an annual event. Although the occasion was the first "Spring Clean," Penn has had a relationship with Lea Middle School for more than 20 years. College junior and Step One tutoring coordinator Jonathan Austrian said that unlike other programs such as the West Philadelphia Tutoring Project, Step One and Penntoring tutors have traditionally focused on fostering a relationship solely with Lea. "Because the school is so close to Penn, we have a special relationship," Austrian said. "We can get a close relationship with the students and facilitate true mentorship." Larry Serinsky, a counselor at Lea, said that students at the middle school look up to their Penn mentors, who they view as models of success. "For our kids, these Penn students serve as an anchor to help them be involved [with their community]," Serinsky said. "It shows them that when you give something [of yourself], you get more involved." Citing his own life experience as an example, Serinsky -- who grew up and went to school in the area -- also commented on how closely related Lea students are with the Penn community. "Their hopes and aspirations are not different than [those] of Penn students," Serinsky said. The Penn undergraduates said they enjoyed working with the students and developing the camaraderie that the sun and pizza helped to facilitate. "I think that this is an ideal way to partner working within the community [with] understanding litter problems," said Megan Davidson, a College junior associated with Civic House and a recently elected Undergraduate Assembly representative. Many in attendance hoped that the event would further the relationship Penn students have with the surrounding neighborhoods. In achieving those aims, "we have accomplished a substantial result," said Gus Fernandez, a representative of the Disposal Corporation of America, which was involved with the cleanup.