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Students, senior citizens partner to give back to Seattle homeless

A group of seventh graders and senior citizens partnered to give back to their community.

The young and the young at heart gathered at Lake City Mini Park in Seattle Wednesday to hand out necessities to the homeless. The group of seventh graders and senior citizens came together as part of a Parks and Recreation program.

The Lake City Leaders is a program that focuses on leadership development for young people of color. They partner with seniors at Victoria Park, a Sustainable Housing for the Ageless Generation (SHAG) community in Lake City.

Rochelle Wynne said the group brainstormed to come up with three things they’d like to do to help their community. One of those things was handing out toothbrushes, toothpaste, protein bars, water and other essentials to the homeless.

RELATED: King County homeless population decreases for first time in years

“A chance to work with these bright kids, it was just a good feeling,” Wynne said. “We might have the wisdom, but [the kids] have the energy, the verve, the forward-looking futuristic views, and that’s what makes it work.”

Vicente Valera handed out a pair of Jordan sneakers.

“I like to give stuff, not want stuff. I want people to feel special because everyone is extraordinary,” Vicente said.

Paola Sierre said she wanted to take the initiative to volunteer. She thinks people can sit back and wait for others to do the work.

“And nobody does anything. So, we finally decided to do something. I hope [people] understand that it’s not just older people helping. That young people can get involved in the community,” Paola said.

The other two projects the group will work on include cleaning up the park and improving sidewalk and crosswalk safety.

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