With the start of a new school year and Leadership class,  activities director Matt Torrens and ASB have been experimenting with different ways students can get more involved with Saratoga’s business community.

“Especially in smaller communities where local high schools are a big deal, creating a dialogue between businesses and student activity helps unify the community,” Torrens said.

Torrens said the this ASB initiative began when someone suggested that the school offer Saratoga Bagels, the local bagel shop, a pennant from the school. In return, Saratoga Bagels offered SHS discounts on food and was thrilled to sport the school logo in its shop.  

The ASB is planning to contact other businesses in Saratoga to promote friendly relationships between the school and businesses in the city.

“It’s a win-win and it helps us reach out to the community, use the community resources and it gets the kids spending money at the local businesses,” Torrens said.

During a Leadership training day in August, students helped went door to door offering to clean windows or sweep the sidewalk.

“Sixty kids have done 45 minutes of work in downtown, and they’ve done everything from weeding at a museum to  rearranging things for businesses,” Torrens said. “That’s a lot of hours of community service.”

Along with providing services to establishment, the ASB hopes that the stores will display a SHS sticker in their windows.  

“Students would feel safer and more connected with their communities, and eventually they could work in those businesses,” ASB president Nathon Chin said. “Students will feel downtown is an extension of Saratoga High.”