Neighbors Helping Neighbors: MLK Jr. Morning of Service at SCH

Over 400 eager student, parent, and faculty volunteers joined forces on Monday to celebrate and support our greater Philadelphia community, and the impact was pretty spectacular! Approximately 650 sandwiches were delivered to the Germantown Avenue Crisis Ministry food cupboard to help feed our neighbors facing food insecurity; 100 backpacks were stuffed with essential items for young adults facing homelessness through H.E.L.P.I.N.G. The Homeless Backpacks; 500 snack bags with caring messages for Philadelphia homebound and homeless are on their way to Caring for Friends; a boxful of colorful cat toys was delivered to the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; hundreds of children's clothing items, shoes, and books will find new homes via the Cradles to Crayons network;  wildflower seed balls will help “green” vacant lots in Philadelphia, thanks to The Schuylkill Center; and books with handwritten notes are now in the hands of the pre-school and elementary school students served by the SHE Wins literacy initiative.

Following a long tradition, Lower School also packaged 151 breakfast bags—complete with juice boxes, fruit cups, granola bars, oatmeal, and handwritten, heart-shaped notes—for Chestnut Hill Meals on Wheels, and bundles of winter outerwear for all ages are en route to DeSales Service Works in Camden.

Thanks to the energy and enthusiasm of the morning’s keynote speaker A’Dorian Murray-Thomas, volunteers began the day with several key takeaways. Murray-Thomas, pictured above, is the founder and CEO of SHE Wins Inc., a nonprofit that offers leadership and social action workshops for girls, primarily those impacted by inner-city violence in Newark. She herself models many of King’s messages, and her powerful voice resonated with volunteers as she encouraged them to recite: “I am the King in me!” Murray-Thomas also provided a tool to help carry King's message forward by sharing an adjective for each letter of his name: K = Kind, I = Introspective, N = Nice, and G = Gutsy. 

Many thanks to all who contributed to these efforts, whether you participated in person, donated items, or made monetary contributions. It was awe-inspiring to see so many busy hands, smiling faces, and full hearts. The impact of SCH’s service will be widespread throughout the area as the community came together to respond to one of King’s central messages: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question: What are you doing for others?” 

For more photos: http://ow.ly/4nyV50MsQar