From left: Cally Heiny, Aidan Eastlee, and Madelyn Fryer help clean an Austin resident's basement Wednesday as part of Our Savior Lutheran Church's Summer Grunge program. -- Trey Mewes/trey.mewes@austindailyherald.com

Volunteers out and about with Summer Grunge program

If you see some random acts of kindness Thursday, it’s probably due to the volunteers at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Austin.

The church’s annual Summer Grunge program is back this week, only the volunteers are a little more focused on work this year.

“This year we’ve decided that we want to focus more on the work,” said Marcia Pedersen. “We’ve kind of cut back on our fun and games.”

The 15-or so crew of middle-schoolers, high schoolers, and adult volunteers helped clean homes and property for several families of color this week. They picked up trash and helped clean a home on Fourth Avenue NW on Monday, and have helped several families perform cleaning chores Tuesday and Wednesday. They even helped a Habitat For Humanity program by prepping a home in northeast Austin for painting Wednesday.

“It’s awesome,” said co-organizer Tucker Besel. Besel said the week, which helps young volunteers learn about service and helping those in need of service, is similar to mission trips these students have gone on. Yet mission trips often lead to help back home, like this program.

“It’s important to bring it back to your town,” Besel said. “What they always say is a mission trip isn’t an end, it’s a beginning. It’s something that you’ve got to bring back to your community, and do something there.”

Besel said volunteers will commit random acts of kindness Thursday, from baking cookies to hand out to possibly cleaning a park or other public property.