About 50 students braved the weather to perform community service projects on the MLK Day of Service.
By Gary Weckselblatt
Despite a COVID pandemic that has impacted their lives for nearly two years and snow and rain that made travel unpleasant on Monday, approximately 50 Quakertown Community High School students took part in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.
The events, organized by the school’s Social Justice Alliance, included card-making for residents of nursing homes, egg-filling for Quakertown’s Community Day, and the reading of books to young people in the school’s media center.
“These kids have done an amazing job to make this day a reality,” said QCHS teacher Bethany Fuller, advisor to the SJA. “They made the calls to set things up. It’s a huge undertaking and they showed a true commitment to doing what they can to give back to the community.”
Much of the workload was picked up by seniors Ryleigh Quinn and Leah Mestayer.
“Martin Luther King Jr. stood for giving back, equity and empathy and we want to help out as much as we can,” Leah said.
Ryleigh explained that the pandemic has left many people in nursing homes feeling isolated. “We want to show them there are people out there still thinking of them,” she said of the cards students are writing and decorating today.
Vice Principal Kim Finnerty said she is “really proud of our students who have shown a commitment to the community and to serve on a day that they are off from school. My hat is off to Bethany Fuller. She and her students have done a wonderful job.”
Gary Weckselblatt, QCSD Director of Communications, writes about the people and the programs that impact the Quakertown Community School District. He can be reached at 215-529-2028 or [email protected].