You Can Change the World with Your Own Two Hands

You might be wondering why I have chosen this title for my post. To do so, I have to give you some background on some recent events. This past Saturday I met a father of two girls at a party at my friend's Liz and JD. After he was talking to Todd and I for awhile, it came up in conversation that his daughters attend Lynchview Elem. school. I facilitated a Campfire after school program there back in 2002. That year at Lynchview, I helped to complete a mural project at the school which began with a small asset/needs map that I helped the Campfire kids complete. What was striking for many of the kids who completed the asset/needs map, was the lack of color and pictures on the walls of their school. In discussing how the Campfire kids could address this need in their school, several ideas began to emerge. One child had an idea of trees, another handprints, and the the idea morphed to include having every student, teacher, and worker at the school place their handprint on a mural. Through some searching my director found a local artist who was willing to donate his time and paint four trees for each season of the year. After having some of the kids call around to local paint shops, we got the paint donated. This project was such a team effort and was so much fun to be a part of. I think it was hard for the teachers to say no to an idea that was originally developed by the kids. It took a lot of organization and planning and we were able to have all the classrooms put their handprint on the wall in shades of orange, brown, yellow, white, grey and green depending on the season. It was a beautiful mural when it was all completed. The Campfire kids added grass and flowers and butterflies to the bottom and we added the quote "You can change the world with your own two hands." by Ben Harper.

Well, the whole purpose of this post is to share that even six years later, the kids at Lynchview continue to love that mural. This father's girls still look at their hand prints that they put on the wall when they were in kindergarten. He said that the quote on the wall has been so inspiring to them and that they are learning to play the guitar because of Ben Harper's quote. It almost brought tears to my eyes because I was so happy that I pushed for that project to happen. There were many times where I didn't think it was going to happen. This experience just reminds me of how when you get the right group of people behind you and you are able to work together you can get so much done in this world. I have found that it can be so easy to be apathetic about all that is happening in this world and go with the status quo. But, how much more exciting and inspiring life can be when you work to make a difference. I hope that when the time is right I can be a part of another inspiring project, like the one at Lynchview.

I also have to give some props to Michelle Obama. During my Americorps year with Public Allies in Chicago, IL, I learned so much about how to engage with community members and how to bring people together for a common purpose. Michelle Obama was the director of that program a few years before I arrived on the scene. Although, she had moved on in her career, the work she completed in developing that program and her commitment to building community was still very present during my experience with Public Allies. I still feel so blessed for that experience in my life and can only feel positive things about where are country is going, if Michelle Obama is our next president's biggest supporter. I guess you can tell who I am voting for this November.

On a completely different note, thanks again Liz and JD for the awesome clambake and giving me some good material for blogging.