Student leaders from Howard High School spent a recent Saturday painting and gardening to improve the day center and a home owned by Linwood Center, which provides education, employment and residential services for children and adults with autism and related developmental disabilities.

One group of students from Howard High School’s LEO (Leading Each Other) and Horizon Club committee joined Linwood’s day center attendees and painted the conference room, main room and hallway and will return to paint the new Linwood logo on the conference room wall.

Another team of Howard High students worked in the garden at one of the homes owned by Linwood.  They dug, planted and mulched alongside Master Gardeners who will return with the students to layout a vegetable garden.

Linwood is expanding to meet the needs of the autism population throughout the Central Maryland region.  A new state-of-the-art school on its Ellicott City campus will allow Linwood to increase capacity to 70 students and accept younger children as well as middle and high school students.

The gardening group included (front row from l.) Sydnee Shannon, Alex Foard, Elise Bonin and (2^nd row from l.) Linwood job coach Jamiu Pedro, Agastya Parikh, Shannon Kirby, Sara Johns, Megan Centafont, Dana Wheeler, Danny Gunderson and (back row from l.) Lamar Fuller of Linwood client, Linwood administrative staff member Leah Kable, A.J. of Linwood, Howard High staff member Dave Sleichter, John DeMarco  and Jim Bucher  of Linwood, Becky Gould, Howard High guidance counselor Shannon Grieve, Fletcher Powell  of Linwood, and Master Gardeners Jerry Berson and Roy Heath.