Saratoga Springs, NY — Many groups and community members gathered at the Saratoga Springs Public Library to celebrate and honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
People of all ages participating in various projects to make Saratoga Springs a better and more livable place.
Among the projects included CREATE Community Studios, which created Kindness Hearts and Kindness Stones to spread love and kindness. Additionally, the neighbors, who take pride in supporting neighbors at Saratoga Pride, collect food cards and cash donations in their foyers to support Free Fridge and other organizations that help those in need of food. I was. Saratoga Central Catholic School has also created a comfy blanket that will be donated to a local pet shelter. People donated pet food and gift cards to Benson’s and PetSmart to help feed local pets in need.
In addition, participants in Thinkpeace’s “Welcoming Refugees Project” will use their creativity to welcome those displaced by war and other crises by creating postcards to be sent to young refugees around the world. Did.
There were also activities for children. Students from the Waldorf School in Saratoga Springs made cards and wrote letters to senior members of their community. Students also read stories about Dr. King and social justice.
Heather Kidd, a 4th grade teacher at the Waldorf School, spoke about how the school decided to coordinate these projects for children.
“We wanted to know what was going on for Martin Luther King Day, and the library is always a good place to start. So I suggested reading books and drawing, these are two things our school is really good at and all the students and Kate came up with this idea.Diversity I read about it one-on-one,” Kidd said of the collaboration.
“So we’re trying to figure out a way to put all this together and let everyone know what we’re up to while we’re here. not a lot but really nice kids who really enjoy looking for books, choosing and reading to little ones.They are really good kids.Everyone likes to draw so I We are bringing special crayons to brighten up the days of the elderly who cannot live on their own,” Kidd explained.
“I think cultivating awareness is the biggest thing. If you start at a young age, they become aware and looking for things to do for the rest of their lives. That’s part of the message we wanted to convey. Kidd added about students being active in the neighborhood.
Additionally, people were supporting the MoonCatcher project to create and assemble sustainable menstrual pad kits for young girls as part of a global project. Ellie Von Wellsheim, founder and director of the Mooncatcher Project, talks about the impact of the project.
“So in honor of Martin Luther King’s Day of Service, volunteers are here to make reusable and washable sanitary pads for girls living in poverty around the world. We are in over 34 countries.We are mainly in Africa and India, but also in South America, Haiti and the Caribbean,” said Von Wellsheim of the organization.
“So what these volunteers are doing today is they’re all doing different parts of the kit, and eventually it’s all put together and then sent to another country. There are also sewing cooperatives that purchase supplies in the countries where the cooperatives are located.These sewers receive a salary and provide the girls with a curriculum on menstrual hygiene, reproductive health and the entire reproductive cycle. This means girls can stay in school and our main goal is to keep girls in school so they can live their lives better and live better. It’s about helping transform things,” explained Von Wellsheim.
“I love the fact that people really recognize this day as a day of service and they come to our aid and touch my heart. I think it’s really important for us to say, go volunteer. We are all part of one family. Help each other. This makes a lot of sense.
