Did you notice an extra couple hundred teenagers on the island on Sept. 19 and 20? This might sound chaotic to some, but for the recipients of the teenagers’ plan, it turned out to be something wonderful.

Two hundred and sixty junior high and high school students from six schools located across western Washington descended on Camp Orkila with their sleeves rolled up. They had been called by the Washington Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, the parent organization of Orcas Christian School, to participate in a “Community Impact Service Event” held on Orcas Island. The teenagers blanketed the island from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, assisting organizations such as Children’s House, Homes for Islanders, Moran State Park, the Land Bank, and the Orcas Senior Center with yard work, cleaning projects, invasive plant removal, painting, brush clearing, and light carpentry work.

As the host school, OCS had local students sharing their muscles with the Orcas Fire Department.

“Those students did more in half a day then our staff could do in several months, including weedwacking the entire perimeter, waxing all six of our engines, and helping us clean the apparatus bays in Eastsound,” said Fire Chief Mike Harris. “Their enthusiasm, teamwork, and overall attitude were as good as I’ve ever seen.”

Organizers said the purpose of the event was to foster greater productive fellowship and unity among students from different schools while having fun working together. By all accounts, the event was a success.

Next year OCS students will have the opportunity to travel to one of the other school’s locations to carry out the spirit of volunteerism.