Service From the Heart

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day,  CHWC Volunteer Recruiter Leslie Scott organized two events for an MLK Day of Service. The first was a clean-up day for CHWC’s EPIC Arts program. Volunteers helped wash down chairs, tables and shelving in the clay studio. The program has been operating in a temporary space while their building is being renovated, and there was clay everywhere! This work helped them get ready to move back into their permanent home in a few months.

For the second event, volunteers let their creative juices flow to make Valentine’s Day cards that will brighten the day of residents living in a local senior facility who might be feeling alone and forgotten on this holiday of love. We had both adults and children participate, and the cards turned out great!

Ten volunteers attended the Day of Service event, an additional three volunteers made cards at home, and 14 participants from Developing Potential, a local organization that provides quality day habilitation services to adults with developmental disabilities, made cards as part of their program activities for a total of 27 volunteers and 106 Valentines in all. Seven volunteers then worked with the Activity Director to surprise Victory Hills Senior Center residents and staff on Valentine’s Day with a handmade card that brought smiles to everyone’s faces.

Although making Valentine’s Day cards for seniors was an MLK Day of Service activity and not directly aligned with CHWC’s focus on financial literacy, it provided an opportunity to recruit volunteers through a fun activity who could then be recruited to participate in more financial literacy-related opportunities in the future. For instance, one volunteer at the card-making event is the Volunteer Coordinator at the United Way. She reached out to offer a card-making activity where 39 corporate volunteers will work on cards that will be given to attendees of our Homebuyer Education class to encourage them as they embark on their homeownership journey and also to thank our families who buy a CHWC home. In addition, Developing Potential will also be making cards for our aspiring and new CHWC homeowners.