Depot Park and side streets of Kalispell were dotted with orange Thursday.

Roughly 500 Flathead High School students wearing T-shirts in the signature school color were out participating in the first Flathead High School Activities Service Day.

Students representing 16 activities, clubs and sports were collected donations for various nonprofits, raked leaves off residents yards, picked up garbage, painted faces and made balloon animals during the four-hour event.

Students lined the sidewalks around Depot Park waving to cars and holding signs advertising the donation drop-off site. Keaden Morisaki, a sophomore and speech and debate member, put some enthusiasm into his wave by signaling cars and pointing in the direction of Depot Park.

“All sorts of groups are out today like speech and debate, football, theater, band. All day we’re doing different projects and trying to get donations to help people in need,” Morisaki said. “The community donates a lot of time for us like the people who judge speech and debate or show their support at football games.”

A passer-by walked past the group of students remarking, “Isn’t it great to see this activism?”

It didn’t take long for the donations to start trickling, in according to one of the event organizers, Shannon O’Donnell, the Flathead Speech and Debate head coach.

“We’ve had one lady drop off a big box of food, we have bags of winter clothes and coats and have had some monetary donations and it’s really cool because it’s not even 3 p.m. yet,” O’Donnell said.

O’Donnell said the community has always answered the call when Flathead activities have needed financial support or volunteers.

“It’s a way for us to visibly give back to a community that gives so much to us,” O’Donnell said.

Hilary Matheson is a reporter for The Daily Inter Lake. She may be reached at 758-4431 or [email protected].