Louisburg football uses work day to give back to community

(Submitted Photo)
Members of the Louisburg football team cleaned off headstones at the Louisburg cemetery on July 31 in what was a community work day for the Wildcat program.

The Louisburg football team has spent a lot of time this summer preparing for another season and a chance at winning three straight Frontier League titles.

As important as that is, several Wildcats also took time out of their busy schedules to give back to the Louisburg community.

On July 31, more than 50 football players hit the town to do some clean-up work. It was a small way for them to give back to the people around town who support the program.

“I remember when I was in high school we did a couple of community service projects around Louisburg,” Louisburg coach, and alum, Drew Harding said. “We thought this would be something that would be cool to bring back these last couple years. This project is important to us just because this community supports us so much. We know from our road games that nobody is as supported as we are here in Louisburg. We felt it was important for us to give back to the community that supports us so well.”

For close to three hours, players repainted fire hydrants around town, while others went to the cemetery. They focused on the older part of the cemetery, where they cleaned the algae and grime off the headstones.

(Submitted photo)
Louisburg senior Alex Saad helps put a new coat of paint on a fire hydrant during the Wildcats’ community service work day on July 31.

The players have been busy throughout the summer, whether it is with weights and conditioning, camp, team practices or scrimmages. It takes a lot to prepare for a season, but Harding was proud to see his team come together and do some more hard work off the field.

“It was really cool to see that many boys show up to help out and give back to their community,” Harding said. “They have all had really busy summers, and for that many to show up on their down time demonstrates how important this project was to them. I think it really shows that we have good kids here in Louisburg.”

Doing community service and giving back is a passion of Harding’s, but one that his players share as well.

“The community work day is very important to the entire team because we are super grateful to the Louisburg community for everything they do for us,” senior captain Ashton Moore said. “The amount of support we receive is incredible and we want to show them our gratitude and give back as much as possible.”