 | | | Sorting and organizing used baby clothes Photos Ohlen Alexander
| | | | | | Pastor of Mission John Weems is greeted and congratulated after morning services at Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church for the third annual ONE Sunday event. The idea came to him three years ago, he said, "when [my son] was two, and I thought it would be nice to create a way for entire families to volunteer together."
One room of the church is devoted to Creek Kids; an organization started by three women who wanted to put an end to homelessness, but wanted their children to help in the effort. The organization utilizes the talents of young and old: tables in the room are filled with "painters." Volunteer Penny Baird explained the process of Creek's Kids: "We take these paintings and other volunteers cut them into perfect squares and then they are mounted onto stationary." The cards are remarkable: colorful, abstract, and lovely-- last year's sales also raised $1,000 which was used to fund the Respite and Resource Center, an entity that aids those without homes.
In another room, teams of fathers, sons, mothers and daughters are assembling carts for women who receive donated grocery items but have children in tow. "These poor women go to get their groceries," Weems explains, "and they often have two children. How can they hold their bags? So we make these carts."
There's an impressive team of three: Beth and her two children, Jimmy and Ellie. Jimmy and Ellie retrieve parts from a table and Beth, who holds the nearly complete cart, tells them where to put them. They have participated every year since One Sunday's inception. Although Jimmy enjoys building carts, he said his favorite activity is to assemble the hygiene and disaster kits given to members of the community who have no money for hygiene supplies or groceries. "It's nice they have these different venues," Beth said. "We did the painting the last two years, and now the kids are old enough to do this. Actually, my oldest-- who also volunteers each year-- wants to go off-site next year to help other areas of the community."
Lisa Klein, Founder and Executive Director of "Loved Twice," an organization that sorts and sends recycled baby clothing to mothers in need, occupies another room. Founded in 2005, "Loved Twice" has clothed 3,500 newborns with over 25,000 pounds of baby clothes. She has already filled a wall with boxes marked "boy" and "girl"-- each box representing what is needed to clothe an infant for a year. "The clothes go to social services so they are given directly to those who really need them," said Klein.
A woman approached Klein to ask, "Is there a limit to what age of clothing you accept?" The question holds the spirit of One Sunday, of every family and volunteer present: is there a limit to what I can give?
"No," Klein replied; indeed, there is no limit to what families in this community can achieve.
|
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA