ECHO's New Generation of Volunteers

Chris Pellecchia, a senior at Canterbury High school, will be graduating on June 7 – and he already has experience in the real world. As part of his Independent Senior Project, Chris chose to spend 60 hours working at ECHO, learning the ins and outs of this non-profit headquartered in North Fort Myers.

“A lot of the other kids were doing things like real estate and business,” Chris tells us. “I wanted to do something different.”

At ECHO, Chris put his love for the outdoors to good use. He spent a day weeding the Semi-Arid plot, a day helping in the nursery, and five days with the maintenance team. One of the neatest projects? Chris helped the guys from the shop rebuild the bridge over the tilapia pond outside of the administrative offices. That’s the same bridge that Chris’s grandfather and longtime ECHO volunteer, Dick Sproat, helped build nearly 10 years ago.

Another of Chris’s skills came in handy during his time at ECHO. While the guys were working on the bridge, a lengthy rat snake took up residence on the library porch. Chris, who raised snakes and had no fear about handling the wily reptile, moved the 5 ½ foot snake back to the bushes surrounding the buildings.