Philadelphia Cares Day

For the past couple of years my grand mom has asked me if I wanted to participate in “Philly cares”, which is a community. My grand mom and my aunt participate through their workplace.  This year was the first time I was actually able to do it and I am so glad that I got the chance.

Philadelphia Cares Day is organized by Greater Philadelphia Cares, a non-profit organization that creates and manages community service projects designed to meet critical needs in the region.  Philadelphia Cares Day started in 1993, and since then there have been thousands of people who have volunteered their time for this one-day service event.  This year, more than 80 schools will benefit from fresh coats of paint, refurbished libraries, landscaped green spaces, restored playground equipment, and much more. 

 My grand mom and my aunt work for General Electric (GE) and this year the volunteers from GE serviced Woodrow Wilson Middle school. The GE team painted 483,000 square feet of hallways, created a “teachers lounge”, and refreshed the outside landscaping and gardens.  This year is the 14^th year that GE employee volunteers have been participating in the event to help the School Districts of Philadelphia. Not only did GE volunteers help this year but they were also joined by some Wilson students & teachers and 30 volunteers from Philadelphia Painters Union District Council 21.

Volunteers sign up for different areas of service that they were interested in and then they were split into groups.  My grandparents, my aunt, and I were signed up to do some landscaping work. We pulled weeds, mulched, and got extremely dirty. We were also supposed to be planting as well but ran out of time on that day and a few volunteers returned the following weekend. In the beginning of the day the weather was not on our side.  It was raining, and possibly sleeting for a little, and was pretty cold. Throughout the day the weather improved a little and we may have even saw the sun towards the end.  Although the working conditions of this day weren’t the best it still felt so good to know what the students would get out of our helping. The principal of the school was so energetic and very appreciative about us being there. I could tell that this was a school that needed and would benefit from our help.

Our dayconsisted of a lot of hard work but it was all worth it and a fun time as well.  We all enjoyed each other’s company. This event means alot to the people that volunteer every year. I know my grandparents changed their plans in order to make it and i’m sure many other volunteers did the same thing. Participating in Philly Cares is a small way to make a big difference in the lives of the children who attend the schools we “help to clean up”. I will be sure to participate in Philly Cares next year and for years to come.

 Getting dirty pulling weeds.  My aunt and I getting mulch for the garden.