There is nothing more beautiful than a community coming together to help its own. The world has been brimming with sad news of late. Here in North Carolina the tales from Jones Street continue to be the stuff of nightmares. It’s all the more heart wrenching when our state’s children aren’t looked after and prioritized in our state’s budget. Non-profits, private donors, good samaritans, and local businesses come together to mend the gaps. It’s never enough.
For many folks, the lazy days of summer mean a respite from reality so it’s easy to float away, lost in a gleeful world of sunshine, literally and figuratively. If you really pay attention, it’s awfully easy to become overwhelmed and feel like you can’t make a difference. Yet in times of despair, goodness always prevails. Some parents from Exploris School understand that in aggregate, every little bit makes a difference.
They have come together to organize various service projects over the summer. The issue of summer hunger weighs heavily in our community. These Exploris parents and their children decided to hold an old fashioned bake sale to benefit the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle’s Backpack Buddies program. What perfect timing, considering the Mediathon is right around the corner on July 13! As you know, this is a cause near and dear to me. Just yesterday, my older son Bird and I participated in a radio interview with Mix 101.5 to talk about our experience volunteering with the Cecilia Rawlins Fund and Backpack Buddies.
On Friday, July 1 a few Exploris School parents and students are setting up a bake sale 4:30 – 6:30 in the Exploris Middle School parking lot at 401 Hillsborough Street, right next to State of Beer.
This isn’t the first time Exploris has shared its generosity with the community. The Middle School collected non-perishable food to donate to peers at nearby Ligon Middle School to provide groceries during spring break. Students attending a school dance simply brought in food items to donate, making it an easy yet meaningful way to do something nice for a neighboring middle school. Ann Whitehurst’s 6th grade son helped categorize all the food that was collected, while my 7th grade son and a couple of his friends packed the bags to donate. Thanks to the heart of Exploris Middle School, 30 Ligon families received supplemental groceries to cover some of the missed school meals during spring break.
