It’s no secret that times are looking a little bleak, and many feel as though things will never get better. It’s easy to feel powerless in these times but it’s important to remind ourselves that we are not powerless and that there are initiatives born out of human kindness everywhere, both in our communities and throughout the world.
We can start with a staple of volunteerism, the tiny libraries. Often just a small wooden bookshelf on a stake, it’s easy to overlook them. However, initiatives like the Little Free Library make resounding change in an easy, convenient package. These libraries are all around our communities, throughout Greenbelt, College Park, and Berwyn Heights. With so much availability, consider throwing in your books. Giving out free books to communities in this simple, helpful way encourages reading in a time where we need it. Another example of widespread volunteerism includes community cleanup initiatives, one of which is brewing at ERHS. Championed by engineering teacher Mr. Eisenberg and the Get Into Tech Club, students established a campus cleanup event on April 26th. As a green school, ERHS is in a position to ally with initiatives around the world, like the IREX changemakers program to make local change like our cleanup event and national change like tackling plastic waste in the Gulf of Mexico. We implore anyone who wants to assist in keeping our school clean to come to the campus cleanup event, starting at 9:00am.
Some of the bigger initatives for change include the Clearwater Beach Cleanup, an initiative run by Keep Pinellas Beautiful and various councils in Clearwater. A record number of volunteers came out to the most recent cleanup event, approximately 250 volunteers ready to assist. According to an article by Kalley Tracey with Fox 13, the Clearwater Beach Cleanup has been an annual event for four years, and Keep Pinellas Beautiful “has been actively working for many years to make not just our city but our country beautiful” This type of effort was greatly needed following Helene and Milton, two hurricanes that ravaged Florida. So when the record breaking number of volunteers arrived at Bay Esplanade Beach, there’s no doubt that both the beachgoers who wanted a trash-free beach and the animals that wanted a healthy ocean let out a collective sigh of relief. As Pat Deplasco, the head of Keep Pinellas Beautiful, said, “just like with litter, every little piece of litter counts, every little bit of kindness counts”, a sentiment that we can all learn from.
Zooming in closer to home, we can highlight DC Central, a food distribution center for those down on their luck. DC Central serves as both a base of culinary training to create jobs and careers, and a place to distribute food to those who need it. DC Central even distributes healthy food to places with very little, like bringing fresh produce to shops in neighborhoods with no supermarkets. DC Central’s mission is explained as combating both the illness of poverty and one of its symptoms, hunger. In our community, Roosevelt itself has many volunteering opportunities open for anyone. From casual students that need service hours to dedicated helpers that jump at the chance to help, there’s a place for anyone to help and receive some reward. One of these less intensive programs is Cards for Kindness, an initiative held at Roosevelt to create cards. With an exchange of four cards for one service hour, it’s a clear example of a little good going a long way. Another more intensive option is the Cake for Kids initiative. Sponsored by Mrs. Aldridtch, Cake for Kids donates cake, cookies, and cupcakes to children who need them, often for birthday parties.
This isn’t close to all the good people are doing. From Roosevelt students volunteering to help with senior living, other food distribution centers spread all over the DMV area, it goes to show that good is everywhere- you just need to know where to look.
