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Six Southwestern Michigan College musicians found themselves back in marching band Nov. 13 volunteering for United Way of Southwest Michigan’s 15^th annual Rake a Difference.

The event unfolds across Cass, Berrien and Van Buren counties.

On a huge, sloping LaGrange Township lawn, where stubborn snow cowered in the shade, six band members wielding rakes marched back and forth, up hill and down, until 43 big Home Depot bags overflowed.

Combined with a previous stop on the other side of Cassopolis, where they stuffed another 33 bags, the instrumentalists topped off a total of 76 — same as the number of trombones in “The Music Man.”

But on this sunny Thursday, SMC sent but two trombonists, Justin Hemenway of Decatur and Hunter Hurley of Marcellus, joined by Adalyne Wiley (flute, Berrien Springs), Aalina Sanders (flute, Bridgman), Brayden Rice (trumpet, Cassopolis) and Lauren Lovell (clarinet, tenor saxophone, Watervliet).

Director of Bands Mark Hollandsworth led the way as usual, but tossed his baton aside in favor of a gas-powered, Craftsman backpack leaf blower that made it possible to conquer the formidable hillside.

“I appreciate this so much,” the grateful homeowner said as they presented her a gift bag from United Way and invited her to their holiday concert Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.

As Hollandsworth told his troops in the band room before departing campus, “We have a job to do, but the reward is when we get done, we get a chance to talk with the seniors we’re serving. To me, that’s the best part of the day.

“It’s important that we give back when we can, and this is an easy way to do it. They might not have family close by. We did one last year and her kids lived out of state, so there was no one to help with this kind of thing.

“As you get older and your friends start passing and your family spreads out, it can be a little isolating, so having someone come over to their house and talk to them is a big deal.”

SMC was also represented in Dowagiac where a staff team raked on James and E. Wayne streets in the neighborhood of Justus Gage Elementary School.

The town team consisted of Director of Campus Life Branden Pompey, Vice President for the Student Experience Dr. Katie Hannah, First Year Experience Manager Courtney Hemenway, CRM Administrator and Communications Process Manager Rachel Breden, Manager of Development Emily Schrock and Administrative Assistant/Safety Coordinator for Buildings and Grounds Andrea Swartz.

Rake a Difference volunteers come together to support senior citizens who may struggle to maintain their yards.

The initiative not only helps keep neighborhoods clean and safe but fosters connections between volunteers and the seniors they assist.

“Rake a Difference is simply a big success because the teams of volunteers throughout each community make it happen,” said Debbie Ramirez, director of impact and volunteer engagement at United Way of Southwest Michigan. “It amazes me each year how teams find a way to make this a fun teambuilding event while also helping community members.”

Rake a Difference was made possible with support from the AEP Foundation, Gast Manufacturing, French Paper Co., Midwest Energy and Communications, Invenergy, Whirlpool Corp., Michigan Works! Berrien, Cass, Van Buren, Silver Beach Pizza, BluCat Consulting, Comcast NBCUniversal, Hungerford CPAs, Niles Precision Co. and Vail Rubber Works.

In 2024, more than 1,200 volunteers stepped up to help across the three- county area to impact more than 350 seniors.