Traveling Light
Eileen Rich called in December looking for potential volunteer opportunities for her Brownie Troop at Martin Luther King Elementary School. It was perfect timing. I had just had a conversation with our Property Management Team about new tenants. Seems that when one of them was checking in with a new tenant a few days after he moved in, she found out he had been using paper towels to dry himself off after a shower. Money was tight, and he arrived at his new home without something as simple as a bath towel. Nodding in agreement another Property Manager added that basic cleaning supplies would also be handy. “When you’re homeless you learn to travel light,” she said.
So it seemed to make sense to suggest that the troop make welcome baskets for some incoming tenants. But I had no idea that when Eileen accepted the challenge that these baskets would be so wonderful! Using Avalon’s Wish List the girls and their parents put together laundry baskets full of handy items: cleaning supplies, towels, sheets, and toilet paper.
Best of all, tucked into each basket was a handmade card that said “Welcome Home” along with a coffee mug decorated with pictures of flowers, houses, and trees.
When I arrived at the school Tuesday, troop members were puting the final touches on their mugs and baskets. Markers, construction paper, and laughter abounded around the table in the art room. The baskets were decked out with celebratory crepe paper and bows, and as we gathered to talk about Avalon and who the baskets would go to and why the girls sat rapt with attention. Their eagerness to help was palpable. Once again, I was struck by what a caring community is capable of doing.