Situational Awareness
Recently, The Daily Local News has run a great series of articles bringing the poverty that exists in our county to light. I used to work in the trenches, but I have to admit that I’ve been insulated from these problems for the past couple of years. As my comfort level has increased, I’ve lost sight of what’s really happening around me. What’s happening to our county and country is gentrification, and a broadening gap between the haves and the have-nots. It’s just like flying: the higher you go, the smaller everything below you seems.
Unfortunately, I don’t a solution to a problem this broad. I suppose all that I can do is perform my small part, and help where I can, just like everyone else. I appreciate what I have been able to earn and what I have been given; I just need to find ways to return the favor and help lift others up. Hopefully, these articles have stimulated similar thoughts in other residents. If we all do a little, we can do a lot.
Unfortunately, I don’t a solution to a problem this broad. I suppose all that I can do is perform my small part, and help where I can, just like everyone else. I appreciate what I have been able to earn and what I have been given; I just need to find ways to return the favor and help lift others up. Hopefully, these articles have stimulated similar thoughts in other residents. If we all do a little, we can do a lot.
posted by TGB at
12:14 PM
1 Comments:
A few years ago I became involved with the Holiday Hope Chest held at the Center for Arts and Technology Brandywine (CAT-B) in Coatesville each holiday season. The driving force is Patty Knecht, the director of the Practical Nursing program. Through her leadership and enthusiasm, the event has become a well-oiled machine. The school stage begins to fill with new and lightly used toys, games, bikes and enough children’s clothes to open a store. Several companies volunteer to be collection sites and items are also brought directly to the school. Usually students and carts are available to help you unload.
Local support agencies like the CYWA in Coatesville and the Food Cupboard hand out “vouchers” to their clients. The vouchers are presented at the door on the day of the event and folks are given “Holiday Hope Dollars” to spend in the new and used shops set up by volunteers.
Many of the volunteers that do the set-up and assist at the event are CAT Brandywine students. Like a swarm of worker ants, the students clear the stage and set-up two rooms in a matter of hours. When the doors open, eager shoppers make their selections and in less than three hours, the tables are empty. Within a half hour of the doors closing, the building is clean and ready for classes on Monday.
I’m not sure who walks away happier that day, the shoppers or the volunteers. If you are looking for a fun way to volunteer next year, remember the Holiday Hope Chest.
Post a Comment
<< Home