Our staff in Chicago, IL, joined together to help the organization Open Books, a non-profit dedicated to inspiring creativity and increasing literacy skills.
Staff served as writing coaches for a group of 4th grade students during their Creative Writing Workshops. Volunteers assisted and supported students as they wrote a short story about a loved one. Our staff also volunteered by baking cookies at Ronald McDonald House Charities, a supportive home away from home for families with children receiving medical care.
We had two great projects in Texas with Local Coordinators Lynn Robinson and Jennifer McCollough. In Austin, TX, Lynn Robinson and her students volunteered at her church’s annual pumpkin patch, assisting people with their purchases, offering to take their photos in the patch, and sharing about the outreach ministry they were supporting. All proceeds from the pumpkins went to Redeemed Ministries, which supports the fight against human trafficking and helps women within the community who are in need of housing, counseling, and medical care.
In Dallas, TX, Jennifer McCollough and her students volunteered at the International Festival, where they served as “Green Ambassadors” by helping to supervise Zero Waste Stations and by educating community members about environmentally friendly waste disposal.
Host mom Kara Weber from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, took her family and exchange student Emily to the Association Retreat Center located in Osceola, WI at a retired air force base. The Association Retreat Center has a volunteer family work weekend twice a year.
The Weber family participated in various projects including, roofing, electric wiring, raking huge piles of leaves, cutting down overgrown bushes, cleaning out flower beds, and Emily’s choice of interior painting. Emily partnered with a volunteer who is a professional painter, and worked with the painter for seven hours helping texture, sand, and paint walls in six different rooms.
Thanks to all of our wonderful Local Coordinators, students, office staff, and everyone else who participated in this year’s Greenheart Day of Service.
Remember to continue logging all your volunteer hours throughout the year on the Greenheart Club website! Keep up the great work, and we hope for another successful Day of Service next year!