GM Student Corps Holds Cleanup Event at Berston Field House

The GM Student Corps today held a cleanup event at the historic Berston Field House in Flint to kick off their 2015 summer season and to showcase the what the group can provide the community. Utilizing high school students as well as college student and retiree mentors, the GM Student Corps program fosters good work ethic, team work and a sense of pride in one’s community through volunteer work that they plan and complete.

Flint Mayor Dayne Walling and Genesee County Commissioner Bryant Nolden were both in attendance to thank the students for their dedicated service in helping beautify Berston along with other areas of the City. Representatives from General Motors, Senator Jim Ananich’s office, the United Way and Keep Genesee County Beautiful were also in attendance.

Mayor Walling cited the work at Berston as another sign of the City’s rebirth. “This is about our community reclaiming the things that are most important. This place has meant so much to many youth and their families and the athletes that have called this place home over the years; it has a great meaning for many of us.”

Commissioner Nolden, who previously served as Flint’s 3rd Ward Councilman, has been personally involved in maintaining and improving Berston as a community asset for some time. He thanked the students for choosing Berston as their community service project, saying “this has been a labor of love for me.”

GM Student Corps began in 2013 and is comprised of Detroit-area and Flint students from 12 high schools. The ten students from Flint Southwestern Classical Academy will receive light work training and other skill building during their paid internships. Berston Field House has been a recreational center in Flint since 1923 and has served as a training facility for many prominent Flint athletes, including 2012 Olympic Women’s Boxing Gold Medalist Claressa Shields.