The Heart of our Work
About one year ago I received a call from Providence Day School. They asked SHARE Charlotte if we could help them develop and execute a service-learning program for their freshmen class. It took me about 3 seconds to answer that question – YES!
I sit here a year later reminiscing about this entire experience, feeling grateful to have played a part in helping these 144 kids start their journey to becoming empathic, engaged community citizens. For us, that was always our number one goal: for the students to get a better understanding of what their neighbors are experiencing every day.
We strongly believed that once they knew more about the realities of poverty – how close to home it really is, how tough life in poverty is – they could start to wrap their arms around the issue and see how they can easily play a role in the solutions. These kids had a unique opportunity to meet many different people and organizations that are doing the hard work every day in Charlotte to lift people out of poverty. And they learned that their role is very personal, to search their hearts to discover their passions and interests. Only then they will begin to know how THEY can make the biggest difference.
For me personally, as I hear the testimonials and anecdotes from the kids I feel humbled, fulfilled and excited. I am excited about what they’ll do next and to see where this experience will take them. Hopefully it means we’re on a path to a better Charlotte!
This video will give you a taste of what we all did…and introduces you to some of the incredible kids we had the honor to work with. (Our special thanks to Silent Images for capturing this year-long experience on film!)
Kelly