Girl Scout Makes an Impact!

Montgomery Blair incoming senior, Rebecca Rivera, made a lot of money this summer. Then she spent it all to improve a teen crisis center in Washington DC.

Rivera had been looking for a project that would put her creative skills to work to earn the Gold Award, the Girl Scouts most prestigious and demanding badge. We connected Rebecca with The Washington Covenant House’s teen crisis center (with whom we have been doing a series of repairs) in hopes that she would feel inspired. As a budding seamstress, Rivera could not help but notice the dingy, threadbare curtains hanging loosely about the windows. She then met with several of the kids who stay at Covenant House and asked them what kind of drapes they would prefer. Overwhelmingly, the teens told her they wanted something bright; something that felt more like a home and less like a prison.

Girl Scouts seeking the Gold Award are given a $50 stipend. Rivera used the money to buy clay. From the clay she made pottery. She sold the pottery at a market in Silver Spring. She used the money she made to buy the fabric to make the curtains to give to the Covenant House. One of Yachad’s volunteer handyman installed the curtain rods and Rebecca and her troop of volunteers installed the curtains on a Sunday in August.

A very special thanks to:
Jennifer Manguera, Yachad office mate, Girl Scout troop leader and matchmaker
Vernell Payton and Larry Gold of Covenant House
Marc Zweben, handyman and superhero

You may remember Yachad’s Grown-Up Field Day at Marie Reed back in May.  We raised money to repair the school while competing in hilarious obstacle courses and a giant game of capture the flag.  We promised we would return to Marie Reed in the summer to do repairs to the school.  We kept that promise and last week both a group of teens from Georgetown Day School and a group of Yachad Uniters (Yachad United is Yachad’s young professional group) helped repair the school and get it ready for the school year!

A special thanks to all that participated and to Yachad United’s amazing Steering Committee.  Check out pictures below as well as on our Facebook page here.

Georgetown Day School (GDS) students came together this week to help give another school a hand.

Yachad worked with GDS’s summer service program to match about 20 students and teachers to a partnering public school, Marie Reed Elementary School, located in the heart of Adams Morgan.  The students and teachers learned more about the needs of the District’s public schools and had a chance to get their hands dirty (literally), helping to get the school ready for the 400 elementary school kids starting on August 26th.

Working side-by-side with the students and teachers was Marie Reed Elementary School Business Manager and parent, Phallon Lattimore, as well as the school’s principal’s son.  This made the day all the more meaningful for the GDS group.

Yachad’s young professional group, Yachad United, will head back to Marie Reed on Sunday to finish the work started by the GDS students.  Yet another example of working together!

Check out some photos below of the students painting murals on 4×4 boards.  These will then be hung onto the walls by Yachad United on Sunday.