MLK Service Day

This week has been non-stop for me so I haven't gotten a chance to write about my MLK Service Day experience until now.

I volunteered through Greater DC Cares, and this event was my 3rd experience volunteering with them (The other 2 being Servathon last May and 9/11 Day of Service.) This project sent me to Springhill Lake Elementary School in Greenbelt, MD. They invited the community to volunteer, so in total there would be between 75-100 people at the project. The school needed some sprucing up, and projects included painting stripes around the cafeteria as well as a mural, painting hallways and doorways, painting bathrooms as well as yardwork on campus grounds. I headed up a group of 30 or so people in decorating the cafeteria. We also painted a mural on one of the walls of fruits and vegetables.

I lived 5 minutes from Greenbelt during my years at Maryland, so I enjoyed getting out of DC for the morning and helping out another place I identify with. The City Councilman from Greenbelt also came out, which created a real sense of community at the event.

I didn't get to see how the rest of the projects turned out but I was very satisfied with how the cafeteria looked when my group was done with it.. There were even a few students walking around the school, and I could tell they liked what they saw as well.

This was the first time I've participated in a project of this size. In my other 2 experiences, I was a project manager in charge of a group of 25 people working on 1 or 2 things. It was awesome to see such a large group of people get together and work with other Project Managers and Leaders towards the same goal.

I wish I had photos but I forgot to bring my camera :( If I get a hold of some I'll be sure to post them.

Get involved!: http://www.dc-cares.org/