Spring into Action

This quarter, our volunteer Spring into Action event was scheduled for April 9th. Due to weather concerns, the event was pushed back to the end of the month and held April 30th. We hosted an out door clean up of a local park, and little league baseball field, as well as indoor activities and crafts that would be donated to a local non-profit, the SunShine Group. Despite losing momentum, we had a good turn out thanks to a local Girl Scout troop helping out at the rain date out door event.

As a Senior level Girl Scout myself [because a Girl Scout is always a Girl Scout], I was able to encourage the girls in the fact that they can always volunteer no matter what age, no matter what the activity. Their scout leader arranged to take some of the indoor craft activities for their final meeting so that the projects could be finished and sent to the SunShine group. The Sunshine Group is an organization that can pair volunteers with activities to make things - knit and crochet hats, scarves, sewn soft toys and bags - that they then help distribute to other local agencies who put these gifts in the hands of shut-ins, nursing home patients, veterans at the VA, and others in need of some sunshine. The items that we made were note pads with decorated covers, books marks, braided friendship bracelets, a fleece tie blanket, but as mentioned, they can be somewhat more complex. The girls, ranging in ages from 6 to 12, were encouraged to know that volunteering could look like so many different things.

 

The Lion King

The fourth graders at school put on a production of The Lion King, Jr. Mostly by themselves. It was incredible. They received instruction from their teachers and the music teacher, but they did most of the work on the sets, props and lights by them selves.

One kid announced he wanted to be a giraffe, and could I help him make a costume? please? Please...?

Yeah, sure.  Awesome.

So we made a giraffe.

That internship at Kent State really paid off. Best looking giraffe on the stage.

Writing about clouds, the day the crayons quit, and appreciating being a voluntold

 Go have lunch, kids.