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Friday, January 22, 2016

Five on Friday: Highlights from the MLK Day of Community Service

Did you participate in a Day of Service in your area on Monday? I know they're not available everywhere, which is why I started my own thirteen years ago. That first one was in my dining room with about ten attendees. The most recent one? Well, take a look . . . 

1. I didn't do a headcount and I'm terrible at guesstimating but we definitely had well over 100 people. (At one of our tables where participants were making dog toys for the animal shelter, a supply run was needed fifteen minutes in!!) I love that this is something that my Mom and I plan together and that we get help running  from my Dad, my husband, my kids, my nieces and nephews, my sister-in-law and my mother-in-law.


2. We recently were able to reconnect with one of my adopted kids' biological family members who happens to be in the Army right now. This year instead of sending our letters to soldiers sent off to strangers, we sent them right to his Infantry Division. I hope they get a kick out of this one:


3. I've had a lot of the same activities year after year so this year I was really glad to have some new things to do and new helpers, too. This local Girl Scout ran this table for me, leading the public in making paper pinwheels to send to Syrian refugee children. Not only is a kid-made toy sent to kids a sweet idea, the Bezos Family Foundation is donating $2 to the International Rescue Committee's Healing Classrooms program for every pinwheel mailed in. You can do this at home, too: Healing Classrooms Challenge

4. Another project you can do at home is always a hit with the younger participants. Go to Color A Smile's website and download coloring pages. Have your young artists color them and then mail them in. They'll go to nursing homes, hospitals, troops overseas, etc.


5.  We also had donations brought in. 605 pounds of food (lots of "sturdy perishables" like oranges, apples, potatoes, onions as they are often lacking and we specifically requested), $425 in cash/supermarket gift cards for the food pantry and 40 bags of dog and cat food for the animal shelter.




I'm refilled with hope for humanity and am already scheming on how I can make next year's event even better!

1 comment:

  1. This is a great Community event that I have enjoyed for the past 9 years. Thank you Gina for your relentless effort in bring your community together for a common cause; #ServicetoHumanity.

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