The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words were turned into action on January 16 as an estimated 600 people volunteered their time at Abington Friends School to make soup, craft blankets and work on other projects that would help those who are facing misfortune.
This year’s King “Day of Service” at AFS drew a record number of volunteers, who lent a hand to 25 projects hosted on behalf of the homeless, the elderly and those who are suffering from illness.
But the big numbers tell only part of the story. What they don’t capture is what Head of School Rich Nourie called the “magnificent expression of community and spirit” that enveloped the campus. Volunteers chatted as they knelt on the floor to cut blankets, stood at tables to chop vegetables and formed a bucket brigade of pages to create coloring books in Spanish for children who attend a free school in Guatemala.
Families cheerfully decorated cookies for those who seek care from the Whosoever Gospel Mission and filled craft and activity bags for young patients at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. In the Student Commons, Scott Heppard, district director of U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle’s office, gave an impromptu tutorial on the electoral college as he cut material for a new fleece blanket. Upper School students, who were working along side him and facing exams the next day, seemed to hang on every word.
Even the creatures of the field and stream were not forgotten. A project organized by Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership created pollinator houses, and other volunteers made clay habitats for frogs and toads that live along area creeks. In the Lower School Maker Space, sewing machines whirred as cloth pockets were being stitched together to hold catnip.
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The day began in the Meeting House, which was packed to the ceiling with AFS community members as well as area residents, who sat shoulder to shoulder on the wooden benches. The program offered inspiring words, thoughtful reflections and music so infectious that it compelled people to stand up and clap along as they sang.
Rich, who welcomed the crowd, told the assembly that Dr. King “saw clearly that our destinies are tied to each other’s. That there could be no justice just for some, no lasting peace that excludes the welfare of others, no true prosperity built that systemically keeps some from reaching fullness in their own lives as God’s children.”
Later in the program, he lifted up the promise of embracing the wholeness of humanity. “At this time of division in our country, let us hold fast to the promise that comes only from inclusion and true peace and justice. Like Dr. King, we may never see the end of this good work, but it lies in no other direction.”
Junior Danielle Thomas spoke of her own journey to activism, and offered this view of why Dr. King’s legacy continues to inspire. “It is not only because he had courage when everyone else wanted to give up, but he had enough love to continue to act and to fight for others. … If we have the privilege to act, we should do so with courage and fire in our hearts,” she said.
Lower School Director Andrea Emmons, who led the committee that organized the day, urged those about to embark on projects to take the time to get to know one another. She also suggested they think of those who would be receiving the results of their handiwork. “Put your love and heart into what you do today,” she said.
Later, in the school cafeteria, seventh graders Ajae’Lyn and Maggie were among the students doing just that. As other volunteers put together meals that were headed to Aid for Friends, the Middle School girls created kind greeting cards that were included in each wrapped meal.
And over in the Lower School, Kimberly McKee of Lindenwold, N.J., made clay habitats in the art room as her mother and her daughter looked on. Asked why she had joined in the King “Day of Service” at AFS, Kimberly replied, “Because we wanted to be a beneficial presence on this planet, like Martin Luther King.”
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One of the “Day of Service” projects, a used clothing sale, started on Saturday and continued on Monday in the Lower School. Tables were filled with donated clothing, all folded and sorted according to size. Paula Cohen Corbman, Director of Early Childhood Admission and Community Life, headed the committee of volunteers. She said the sale raised $1,268 for the Montgomery County Women’s Center. Given that the most expensive items were $3, the total represents hundreds of individual items.
