On October 17th, Greater Philadelphia Cares  lead the call to improve Philadelphia's public schools by painting classrooms, restoring playgrounds, and creating green spaces. BuildaBridge took part in Philadelphia Cares Day, a marathon day of service that gives children attractive and more functional learning places in schools located throughout the School District of Philadelphia. BuildaBridge has been partnered with the School District since 2002, providing programs to children and families coping with homelessness in emergency and transitional homes.

At 7:30am on Saturday, October 17, I faced the cold rain, and set out to Fairmount Park, the kick-off point for the 16th Annual Philadelphia Cares Day.  There, I was met by five other BuildaBridge volunteers—which is a big turnout considering the absolutely miserable weather!  From Fairmount Park, we received our site assignment—Prince Hall Elementary School in North Philadelphia.

When we arrived at Prince Hall, I knew BuildaBridge and Prince Hall were a match.   There was a community-painted mural on the building’s exterior, and the school’s entrance had a beautiful mosaic. Immediately upon entering, there were paper-mache fish hanging in a sea of streamers; and the hallways were covered with murals painted by students of influential African Americans, scenes from Egypt, and athletic events.  The murals show that Prince Hall loves art, but there were other areas where they were lacking.

BuildaBridge and other volunteer groups helped Prince Hall Elementary School restore their library.  At the start of the morning, the library was bare. Empty shelves filled the room.  The books that were shelved were outdated—their covers were faded, and they were not books that I, as a child, would have had any interest in reading.  I first found the library to be upsetting—children may not develop a passion for reading and learning because they did not have access to quality resources.  But, half way through the service projects, countless new and gently used, donated books were unpacked.  And, by the end of the day, the majority of the shelves were filled with award winning children books, young-reader chapter book series, and fun-to-read books on science, nature, and history, particularly African American history.  The site of the library upon the end of the day was truly rewarding, and Philadelphia Cares Day proved to be successful.