On Saturday, October 15th, a large group of Hewitt 9th graders, led by Upper School Community Service Coordinator Stephanie Dore, went to Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical Education High School to be a part of New York Cares Day. New York Cares Day is a day devoted to helping and doing service in our city. It is the largest volunteer day in the city, and it also is a critical fundraiser for the organization, New York Cares. By volunteering, one can help students and teachers all over New York City. Some activities that take place on this day include painting school hallways and murals, organizing libraries and rooms, and planting flowers and seeds.
The day for all of us began in the cafeteria of the school we were going to help. We were greeted with big smiles from all of the volunteers. When we then gathered to receive our tasks for the day, the team coordinators and leaders shared their stories with us. Also, one of the members of the school community program gave a short speech, thanking us for coming out and helping the school. She told us how much that it meant a lot to the school’s students and teachers.
After our Hewitt team was split into two groups, we got right to work. One group started with planting, the other with painting. The planting group, including me, was given a variety of flowers that would bloom in the spring. We started by planting in all of the tree wells outside of the school. Then we decided to do something more. We planted flowers in the shape of the school’s initials.
After the break, the planters and the painters switched jobs. Throughout the school, small murals were being painted and touched up. Asked about her experience working on the projects, Jamie Russo ’15 responded that it was “interesting to see all of the projects going on, like the painting in the cafeteria.” This painting was the biggest in the school and covered the whole back wall of the dining room. When we arrived at the beginning of the day, the mural was not doing well, but by the end of the day, it looked as good as new.
This day had a great, positive impact on people all over the city, and the satisfaction of helping others was priceless. It was amazing to see all that we accomplished during the day; we really did make a difference to this school. The volunteers who participated thought that the day was “fun and productive,” “a good way to get involved,” and “an exciting way to help out.” To learn more about how you can help and get involved, visit www.newyorkcares.org, and to find out more about the day, visit the New Y ork Cares Blog.