More than a game - Whitewater lacrosse lends a hand

Last Saturday at 8 a.m., the Whitewater varsity boys lacrosse team got together to work on something other than the sport of lacrosse. Three coaches and 18 players traveled to East Point, and volunteered their time to assist in the continuing restoration of Hillcrest Cemetery.

Hillcrest Cemetery dates back to the 1800’s, and until 2002 was in a state of complete disrepair.  Relying solely on volunteer work and donations, Hillcrest is one many neighborhood projects under the direction of Hands on Atlanta.  The cemetery covers 17 acres and is the final resting place of approximately 11,000 people.  Among those buried there are veterans from 6 conflicts – American Civil War, Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.

The lacrosse team spent four hours performing a variety of tasks to include raking, shoveling, pruning, sweeping, and general cleanup of the northern end of the property.  One section of stairs and drainage culverts were completely covered in dirt and grass requiring excavation.  At one point, the boys even had the opportunity to help a passing motorist whose vehicle stalled at an intersection of Stanton Rd. 

The Hillcrest Cemetery project coordinator from Hands on Atlanta is Mr. Kevin Hudson, an East Point resident.  Kevin has run the project since its inception and noted that “it was the most productive day we’ve had cleaning up the cemetery since last March.”  The coaches joked with Mr. Hudson about the difficulty of waking up teenagers at 7 a.m. on a Saturday the day after a night game for the sole purpose of giving something back to the community.  The players had a great attitude and worked effectively as a team the entire time. 

Head Coach Kris Muir and Assistants Bo Bobinski & Jimmy Zerkus were impressed with the boy’s approach to the task.  Afterwards, the team stopped at Oz Pizza in East Point for lunch and laughs about the day’s events.

This year marks the start of a tradition for the boys lacrosse team – a community service project.  A pillar of any sports program is the development of life-long skills, and giving freely of one’s time for the betterment of others is such a skill.

Anyone interested in volunteering at Hillcrest Cemetery need only to contact Kevin Hudson, 404-323-1813 or hillcrest@graves.org.  Volunteers meet the first Saturday of every month.