Neighbors Helping Neighbors: Township Teens Lend A Hand, And A Shovel
Some may have seen more than two feet of snow an impediment, but two township siblings saw it as an opportunity to help their neighbors.
Noelle and Noah Brent-Magri, both 16, teamed up on Jan. 24 to dig their neighbors – and some strangers – out of the blizzard’s aftermath.
The pair set out at about 6 a.m. to help neighbors, but soon their mother, Tricia Brent, put out the word on social media that her kids were ready and willing to help anyone who needed it.
The idea was Noah’s, who said he started doing it last year, mainly to mainly elderly neighbors who couldn’t handle shoveling the snow themselves.
“I wanted to help them get out of their driveways, and stuff like that,” he said.
Noelle said she joined in when she heard what her brother was planning.
“I said, ok, let’s do it together,” she said. “We volunteer to do things because we know they can’t.”
Noah was out from about 6 a.m. to midnight, he said, during which time he shoveled out about 15 properties.
Noelle didn’t last that long, she said, eventually being chased inside by the cold temperatures.
Tricia Brent said she thought what her children did “was wonderful.”
“It was helping people and building a relationship between the both of them,” she said. “It taught them to care for others.”
After all that shoveling, how did Noah feel the next day?
“I’m a little exhausted,” he said.