Junior Joe DiMarino says it’s about more than earning volunteer hours.
When Joe DiMarino started his own business at the age of 12, he was just trying to earn some extra cash. Now a junior at Moorestown High School, DiMarino has found a true passion in landscaping and entrepreneurship.
DiMarino spent his spring break cleaning up Collin’s Park boulevard, an area of land near his home he says needed a lot of work. DeMarino recruited a handful of friends and completed the project in two days.
“I’ve definitely taken it to the next level this year,” said DiMarino, who spends time each year cleaning up the area. “I live here. It’s close to my heart.”
DiMarino and his friends spent the first day cleaning up trash, clearing leaves and weeding. He was fortunate to have Leonberg Nursery donate nine yards of mulch, and the group spent the next day mulching and planting flowers.
DiMarino credits the success of the project to the knowledge he has gained from his landscaping business as well as his desire to take the lead this year.
“I was able to increase the efficiency and productivity this year,” he said. “I was able to use some of my talents to better the community and make our town a better place.”
DiMarino’s Landscaping allows the 17-year-old the opportunity to combine his love of being outdoors with his affinity for entrepreneurship. He plans to study business in college to take his passion to the next level.
“I fell in love with entrepreneurship and the whole idea of cultivating your own company,” DiMarino said. “I also enjoy landscaping because it’s a way to be outside and enjoy nature and really work hard.”
Dedication, grit and work ethic are just a few of the things DiMarino has learned from having his own business that reflect loudly in other aspects of his life. He spends four hours each day practicing with his crew team, serves as the junior class president and spends at least 40 hours each year volunteering.
“Everything he does, he works hard,” DiMarino’s mother, Michele, said. “[I encourage him] to give back and to give back with something that you like to do.”
While putting community service hours on his resume is a perk, DiMarino just sees it as an added bonus. The real reason he does it is to better his community.
“It’s not about getting hours,” he said. “I’m not really a fan of sitting and saying, ‘I’m here.’ If I’m there, I’m going to do something productive and really make a difference.”
Michele agreed, saying while it’s easy to get Joe outside and working, it took some convincing to get him to fill out the necessary paperwork to get his volunteer hours recognized.
“He doesn’t like to do things to get credit for them. He likes to do it when nobody is looking,” Michele said.
DiMarino says he would love to cultivate a program in Moorestown that would allow residents to adopt areas of land to clean up and take care of, similar to the Adopt a Highway program.
“If you respect something, it shows that you’re grateful to live in this community with such great people in a great town,” DiMarino said. “Cleaning up shows that you’re grateful.”
