Submitted photo YouthBuild North Central built 26 new trash cans for the Elkins Parks and Recreation Commission this year. Those helping with the construction of the trash receptacles include, from left, Beth Smith, Michael Rosier, YouthBuild Construction Site Trainer Ritchie Smith, Conner Phillips, Braxton Lindsay and Sadie Wilson.

ELKINS — The Elkins Parks and Recreation Commission recently teamed up with YouthBuild North Central to construct new trash bins for the city’s five parks.

YouthBuild students began working on the trash bins this past winter as part of a Construction Community Service Project. The cans were completed earlier this spring and sent to Bluegrass Park, Davis Street Park, Elkins City Park, Glendale Park and River Bend Park in June.

“Years ago, YouthBuild had completed some trash cans for the EPRC, so (EPRC assistant director) Jake Gooden reached out to us and asked if we would be interested in doing it again,” YouthBuild Program Manager Courtney Lambert told The Inter-Mountain. “He said they needed to update some of their trash receptacles because many of them were falling apart. So we took it on as a Construction Community Service Project.”

In all, the students with YouthBuild North Central built 26 new trash receptacles as part of the project. 

“The kids really seemed to enjoy this project,” Lambert said. “They did a lot of it over the winter when they couldn’t be out on job sites because of the weather. It was really nice to see them work together and get hands-on skills for their construction certification with the YouthBuild program. And it was nice to give something back to the community.”

Lambert said the large trash receptacles were made from wood that can survive in the elements better than the previous containers.

“The cans are made from a wood material that doesn’t fall apart very easily,” Lambert said. “They were very heavy. It took at least five people to load one of them up into a truck, so they’re pretty sturdy and built to last.”

Lambert noted Mike McCauley at the West Virginia Wood Technology Center engraved the YouthBuild emblem into each of the cans.

“We took the cans over to Mike at Woodtech and he put the emblems on the cans with a router,” Lambert said. “They then painted them with the red stain and once they were ready to go, Jake and his crew came to pick them up.”

The YouthBuild program that engages out-of-school youth from ages 16-24 and provides pathways to employment through education, job shadowing, coaching and a variety of other supportive services.

“We do projects for certain organizations, we can’t do any for individuals,” Lambert said. “I know we are working with Jake and the commission for another project once they get approval for it, whether it be picnic tables or building benches, we are ready to help in any way that we can.”

YouthBuild North Central currently has 14 students and is accepting applications for those interested in attending the program. A new class is scheduled to begin in October, and those interested in applying can find more information at https://rchawv.org/youthbuild-home.