What a wonderful day it was to demonstrate community service. For our Women Build, the Emma Willard School students, alumni, and faculty were in full force demonstrating the power of building strong girls and women… how empowering the day was. The group included 11 alumnae who are members of the “Capital District Emmies.” One of the “Emmies” said that the group meets for both social events and community involvement and working on the Women Build project was quite meaningful and will “help us redefine the group in a new direction.” The students wore the Emma Willard tee shirt which reads “Empower a Girl. Transform the World.” How true it is! A faculty member said she enjoyed seeing the girls in action and that for her the best part of the day was meeting and working with the partner family. “We’re not just building a house… we’re building a home.”
Our traditional build had employees from Taconic Farms…..a local partner of Habitat. All were engaged in work throughout the day. According to members of the group, they said they could both contribute their building skills and knowledge and at the same time learn new skills. Plus, one member said he liked the energy of a “whole bunch of people running around and keeping busy… and there’s always someone around to help.”
In addition, we had the special joy of young people participating. Taconic Hills National Honor Society worked on two sheds- they completed a shed for a current Mill Street owner and began a shed for the Khan family. A part of the Honor Society’s mission is to do service work and one member noted that the group found it most meaningful to volunteer close to home. All our young people appeared to be surprised by how hard they worked, but all said they would do it again!
| www.flickr.com |
