By Doug Carman, Staff Writer
HIGHTSTOWN Jenna Hart could have spent Martin Luther King Day sleeping in like most of her classmates from the Peddie School.
Instead, the 14-year-old stood by a table Monday morning at the First Presbyterian Church of Hightstown, gathering toothbrushes, dolls, children’s books and clothing and putting together “bedtime kits,” along with 14 other children.
“I do community service for the high school,” Jenna said as she stacked up some of the books. “It’s not too bad.”
Mary Maleski, Director of Children and Youth Ministries at the First Presbyterian Church of Hightstown, said the kits about 75 of them, by her estimate were to be donated to Rise, the local charity group headquartered on North Main Street.
Rise Executive Director Leslie Koppel told the Herald the bedtime kits will go to the charity’s food pantry for distribution. More than 200 disadvantaged children are registered with Rise.
The packages, Ms. Koppel said, were a good start.
“We’re thrilled,” she said. “I think part of it is bringing the kids in … Sometimes we did it just for toys but people realize it’s the basics we really need.”
The children getting the packages will even get to know who prepared it for them.
As with the other young volunteers, Julia Pendino, 9, wrote her name in crayon and drew on a card she placed in a large plastic bag also containing pajamas, a doll, toothbrush and toothpaste.
“I feel good about it that we’re trying to help,” Julia said.
Ms. Maleski said the churches collected donations and money for the bedtime packages prepared Monday. The volunteer work itself was the multi-congregational response to both Dr. Martin Luther King’s messages of unity, as well as President Barack Obama’s more recent calls for community service.
“It’s not about sleeping late on this holiday, it’s about going out and making a difference,” Ms. Maleski said.
Last year on Martin Luther King Day, the children collected donations and supplies for the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Since there were no ongoing international crises of that magnitude this year, Ms. Maleski said they chose to help a more local effort in Rise.
Some of the more grown-
up volunteers thought the children were also helping themselves by helping others.
“I think it’s important for them to learn they make a difference,” said Sheri Devlin, a Hightstown mom who brought her three children along to help out.
Ms. Maleski also thought there was an important lesson to be learned from the work the children were doing Monday.
“We want our kids to learn you can be two people and make a difference, you can be one person and make a difference,” she said. “You don’t need 20 people.”
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