VOLUNTEERS KEEP THEIR HANDS ON CAPITALAND.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: MARK MC GUIRE - Staff writer

Tim Washington, wise and mature beyond his 10 years, seemed stumped by the question: Why was he on his hands and knees, a bucket of soapy water in front of him, scrubbing splattered paint from a day-care center carpet?

"They need my help," he said Saturday, puzzled at the possibility that there could be any other answer. "It's helping out other people."

The Clifton Park youth was surrounded by others just like him, and still others quite different, in the Arbor Park Child care center in Albany. There were dozens of them in blue T-shirts, painting and cleaning and scrubbing, struggling not to bump into each …