JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — Columbine High School — and members of the community — have reclaimed and redefined what April 20th means.
Since 2016, a group of Columbine teachers reimagined what the day would be with an annual Day Of Service.
On Saturday morning, small and big hands alike helped coat the walls of Governor’s Ranch Elementary School with a fresh coat of paint.
“I mean, it can definitely be therapeutic in a way that we're all together and we're remembering certain parts of the day,” said Meg Fink, who’s been volunteering on the annual Day of Service for the past four years.
For Fink, it’s personal. She grew up going to this very elementary school. It’s also where she was sitting on this exact day 25 years ago.
“I was sitting in a fifth-grade classroom here when that happened with my friends that were all worried about, you know, siblings and family members and babysitters and people that we love.”
Now, she and her husband (who met at Ken Caryl Middle School and later attended Columbine themselves) use the Day of Service to teach their children about the importance of April 20, and spreading a little kindness along the way.
A few miles away in Littleton, a group of Columbine High School students spent the day volunteering at the Humane Society of the South Platte Valley.
“It helps remember that day with a more positive feeling that helps give back to everybody,” said freshman Anica Lest.
Twenty five years later, Fink says the community is redefining what it means to be from Columbine.
“The rebel way is different than other ways. And I would say it doesn't have to just be contained to today. You can take this kind of mentality into every day. You can live a different way. You can spread kindness and joy and love and care and teach other people how to how to follow that.”
