Youth cleaning up the grounds of the Sparta Presbyterian Church
On May 12, Pass It Along had their annual Serve-A-Thon. This is the biggest day of Pass It Along’s year and takes place at different locations all throughout Sussex County New Jersey. These service projects include landscaping, painting, yard work, and various other projects. At Serve-A-Thon there were 168 volunteers who accomplished 594 hours of service. There were 20 different locations where volunteers went to help and serve. Some of these locations included Fredon Animal Shelter, Knoll Heights, Habitat for Humanity, Ginnie’s House, Project Self-Sufficiency, and many more.
Gracie Jackson painting a mural at Little Citizens
I attended Little Citizens at Project Self-Sufficiency in Newton, New Jersey. Children from ages 2 to 10 years old came to participate in their own mini Serve-A-Thon. There were five separate projects completed at this site. The children painted a mural to be hung up at St. John’s Children’s Hospital. They also made clay creations for Ben’s Bells. Another project the children did was making peace bracelets to be given to Tilly’s Kids, a mentoring program within Pass It Along. They made Mother’s Day cards and also put together little care packages for the St. John’s soup kitchen. As volunteers we watched over the kids and helped them with each of the five projects. The kids, as well as the teen volunteers, were so cheerful and happy to be helping others.
by: Ruth Lee Bonventre, junior at Marist College
