2nd Grade Volunteer Project
By Suzanne Quinn
The 2nd grade volunteer project ended in November after working with five different local nonprofits. We learned about the importance of giving back to our community, and to be thankful for the many blessings that we have. The girls worked on projects that provide healthy food to families, transitional housing, job opportunities, and maintaining and beautifying our environment.
The overwhelmingly favorite activities were Graffiti Clean Up, and setting up a new apartment for a formerly homeless family through VinCare. Catie said that Graffiti Clean Up "was fun because I liked getting messy." Although some of the painting looked cool, we learned that it is illegal when you don't ask for permission to paint it and when it's in an inappropriate location. The girls changed into old clothes for the project and we met the City of Austin representative at a problem area completely covered in graffiti. Grace won the prize for messiest painter, and was almost as covered as the walls by the time we finished! We all worked very hard but Catie won the prize for covering the most area. Several parents reported sore muscles and blisters the next day!
VinCare works with parents of families and provides counseling and advice that can help them finish school or find a new job to get them back on their feet. When the 2nd grade worked with VinCare, we set up an apartment as transitional housing for a formerly homeless single mother and her two children. The girls broke into groups and each took on one room to set up. One group had a lot of fun folding all of the baby clothes and making beds. We all brought food to stock their pantry, and stored away all of the donated pots and pans, toiletries, and clothes that VinCare had collected for them. Sydney said that she enjoyed working with her classmates and "teamwork."
Since everyone has indicated that they would like to continue volunteering, we will start up again after the holidays, working with some of the same groups and incorporating new ones, like Friends of Austin Parks. I encourage others to get involved—you can contact Little Helping Hands (www.littlehelpinghands. org) for more information on how you and your family can get involved and start giving back to our community!