Did You Serve?

Say it Rah-shay By Jan 18, 2011 1 Comment
This year marks the 16th anniversary of the Greater Philadelphia’s Martin Luther King day of service and once again I was invited to serve. Someone on my Twitter feed questioned when did MLK Jr become [synonymous] anonymous with service and not, say Justice/Change. Coming from a world, time when I did nothing but sleep in on this particular day I think my doing ANYTHING is a start but I can see where Dr.
My crochet group, Sisters in Stitches made baby hats for Save the Children foundation. The goal is 300 hats by mid February. There is still time to help out; knot and crochet caps can be made and donated to the Wynnefirld Library or you can stop by our next meeting on February 5th to make a hat, donate some that you’ve made already (hint, hint!) and just fellowship with some great women, positive souls and be energized.

Just some of the hats that were already made

Sisters in Stitches

My contribution

A sweet hat that I want to try

A few of us showing off more hats

The Bee’s school has had a service day for over ten years (WOW!) and had a variety of projects that everyone from ages 5 through 95 could participate in. As always, The committee who put the day together did a fabulous job and the general buzz for the day was full of positive vibes.
The chorus sang and one of the highlights was a visit from Dr.Walter P. Lomax, Jr., MD who shared his experience and memories during a time he treated the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Bee and I participated in recording a book on tape for Philadelphia Reads. Twenty books were read that were recorded and the recording and copies of books will be shared with readers. Choices for books included Strega Nona, The Snowy Day, The Cat in the Hat and Whistle for Willie.

Other projects for the day:

Red Cross Blood Drive

Books on Tape for Philadelphia Reads
The mission of Philadelphia Reads is to strengthen the literacy skills of Philadelphia’s youngest and neediest school children by providing mentors and resources for in-school and out of school programs.

Caring for Others Collage Project
Students and their grandparents and parents will be making collages with the theme “Caring for Others.” Later the artworks will be auctioned off to raise money for Fresh Artists, a local program that supports art education in inner-city schools. Special invitation to grandparents: this is a perfect opportunity to share your wisdom and creativity with your grandchildren. Please join us!

Aid for Friends Breakfast Bags
We will pack breakfast bags again for Aid for Friends, a nonprofit organization that serves needy, isolated shut-ins, primarily the elderly, in the greater Philadelphia area. Our families will donate non-perishable foods and on MLK Day we’ll pack them up, along with a hand-made card or note. This is a great activity for our younger volunteers, who love running from table to table filling the bags. Learn more at www.aidforfriends.org. Aid for Friends says the breakfast bags will really help them get through the year with the economy suffering so badly.

Supplies for Mennonite Central Committee
Once again, we will pack school or health supply kits for the Mennonite Central Committee. MCC is a wonderful nonprofit organization that sends desperately needed people, food and materials to communities recovering from war and natural disasters. Lean more at www.mcc.org.

Paper Flower Making
We will make paper flowers for patients at an area hospital. These cheerful tokens will brighten the days of a broad range of patients.

House Renovation for Inn Dwelling
7th and 8th graders handy with a hammer are needed for a house renovation project for Inn Dwelling, non-profit corporation dedicated to assisting poor families in the Germantown and Northeast sections of Philadelphia. Interested students will need a signed permission slip and should come dressed in warm work clothes.

Tree Lab Clean Up
Teachers supervised students in cleaning up the Tree Lab.

Pictures from the day:

Justin was the sound recorder for the books we’ve read

The Bee practising her book, Whistle for Willie

The Bee hanging with friends, waiting for their time to record

The group packing care bags

On my soapbox now.  One day does not a better community make. I so enjoyed the act of giving back, doing something for someone other than myself and I want to challenge myself to do more. I found this charge from The State Department. There are a variety of activities and in a lter post I will let you know which of the 25 I pick and commit to for a MLK25 Challenge.

Hope you had a productive day as well.
-r

Author

I am mom, daughter, sister, yarn lover, word lover, crazy cat lady and library chick. Find me with book or with hook and a hot cuppa.

1 Comment

  1. Lisa says:

    I already follow you. Sounds like a great day! We can never do enough service, that’s for sure! My 14 & 16 yr. old sons have a resume of community service activities longer than most adults!!! 🙂 Nice to read your post. I grew up in NE Phila. Have lived in DE for 12 years now.

    Lisa xoxo
    http://RaisingFutureLeaders.blogspot.com
    http://BlessOthersWithCards.blogspot.com

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