Volunteers abound at Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service in Upper St. Clair
Upper St. Clair students Fallon Winseck and Alex Pikras work on one of the many activities made available for volunteers during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.
Hallie, “spokesbull” for Hello Bully, was on hand to greet Day of Service participants.
Ivie Odia, a University of Pittsburgh student from Nigeria, welcomes the opportunity to volunteer in the Pittsburgh area. She is working on a "snuffle mat" for the benefit of sheltered dogs.
Becca Kopaz, left, and Alex Culp, sixth-graders at Boyce Middle School, work on decorating handkerchiefs.
Volunteers work on making toys for pets.
Kelsey Riemer, an Upper St. Clair High School freshman, works on a decorative handkerchief.
Thank-you cards went to Tri-Community South EMS and the Upper St. Clair police and volunteer fire departments.
Hallie, “spokesbull” for Hello Bully, was on hand to greet Day of Service participants.
As the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service approached at the Upper St. Clair Community and Recreation Center, the number of registrants kept growing.
“It’s really a great turnout,” Chaz McCrommon, the township’s assistant community programs coordinator, said about the hundreds of youngsters who attended on Jan. 16. “It’s good to see a lot of kids who would give up their off-day and contribute to such a program as a tribute to a great man.”
With no school in session locally, students were invited to participate in a series of hands-on activities to help a variety of causes, including the nonprofit Hello Bully, which brought a special guest named Hallie.
“She’s one of our ‘spokesbulls,'” Meegan Walsh, public relations director for the Ross Township-based group, said as the pleasant-mannered pooch greeted everyone in attendance. “She is a registered therapy dog, so not only does she represent our organization, but she also has the ability to go into hospitals and things of that nature, to be able to provide companionship.”
With its mission to “rescue, rehabilitate and repair the reputation of the American pit bull terrier,” Hello Bully houses rescued dogs. And they’re benefitting from one of the Day of Service projects: the making of “snuffle mats” from old blankets.
Walsh demonstrated how it works by putting pieces of turkey within the folds of a mat, then letting Hallie “snuffle” around for the treats.
“Anything that you can do to get them stimulated mentally is also going to really start to tire them out physically,” Walsh explained. “So when you have a dog that has really high energy, this is great, because, of course, we usually don’t have the luxury to be able to take them out on 10 or 15 walks during the day.”
Leading the mat-making activity were University of Pittsburgh students who are corps members for Jumpstart Pittsburgh, which offers support in language and literacy skills for preschoolers in low-income areas.
“This was our project because we’re familiar with working with children,” Jumpstart volunteer coordinator and a junior at Pitt, said. “But these kids are a little older, so it’s really interesting to see them at different ages.”
Twenty-two of the corps members came to Upper St. Clair, including Ivie Odia, a freshman biology major from Lagos, Nigeria, who always appreciates the opportunity serve as a volunteer as she gets to know the Pittsburgh area.
“They always have something for you to do within the community, so you get a deeper sense of what it is as a whole,” she said about Jumpstart.
The younger volunteers at the community and recreation center also worked on making Valentines for Veterans as part of a national program that sends greetings to veterans’ affairs hospital. Leading the activity was Carly Beer, a swim instructor at the center and yeoman with the U.S. Coast Guard.
Other projects included decorating bags for Meals on Wheels recipients, and signing thank-you cards for Tri-Community EMS and the Upper St. Clair police and volunteer fire departments.
“In general, I like to help the community as much as I can,” Upper St. Clair High School freshman Kelsey Riemer said, while expressing admiration for Dr. King and the day of service in his honor.
“I think it’s pretty honorable, the way he helped the country and how he made it a point to have nonviolent protests,” she explained. “It’s nice to have a way to remember him, other than him just being another historical figure.”
Becca Kopaz, a Boyce Middle School sixth-grader who joined classmate Alex Culp in volunteering for the day, also lauded Dr. King.
“He tried so hard to make this country great,” Becca said. “He tried to help people. So shouldn’t we do that, too?”