St. James student takes part in prepping Rose Parade float

St. James the Less Catholic School launched a new requirement for its junior high students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades. The school wants to teach the students to give back to the community by having them perform service hours through volunteering.

One St. James student found a way to have fun and earn volunteer hours at the same time.

Flynn, an eighth grade student who will be graduating in June, volunteered with the Petal Pushers, decorating a float for the annual Tournament of Roses Parade. Petal Pushers is a group of about 4,000 volunteers that decorate several Rose Parade floats. Flynn spent eight hours working on the City of Los Angeles float gluing, placing flowers and arranging pine tree branches. He learned not only how much work it takes to decorate a float, but also how many people come from all over to work, just for the fun of it.

Flynn was the only one considered a local.

There were volunteers from Orange County and San Diego and some from as far as Boston and Nashville who came to Pasadena to help decorate the floats that marched down Orange Grove on Jan. 1. Flynn has fulfilled his service hours requirement for St. James, but said that plans on continuing to volunteer to help in other ways throughout the year.