Earlier this year Warren Area High School students formed a Leadership Club to promote inclusion and bring students from special education and general education together through meaningful events.

The group’s first event will take place April 30 from 1 to 2 p.m. when the Leadership Club brings Warren Area High School’s inaugural Color Run to life on the track behind the Warren County Career Center for a one-mile run. Along the route, volunteers from the Key Club and Warren Area Elementary Center students will throw colors on the runners at four designated stations around the track.

Proceeds from the $15 entry fee and community donations will directly benefit the Special Olympics bocce team at Warren Area High School.

This is a great start for the Leadership Club at WAHS. Kudos to the students who worked to create the club and have spent their own time to raise more than $1,000 already while planning the color run.

One problem in many small communities like ours is a lack of volunteers for agencies and nonprofits. That lack of volunteers often leads to the same names being involved on numerous boards and events throughout the year. It’s a problem that has gotten more acute as our county’s population has decreased over the decades.

But one way to increase volunteerism in Warren County is to plant the seeds of adult volunteerism early. It’s even better when that seed is planted and grown organically by our teenagers without adults forcing upon teens the importance of volunteerism.

We hope next week’s Color Run is the next step in growing the next group of volunteers in our community.