Last Monday, more than 200 volunteers from Jewish Volunteer Connection participated in the group’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. JVC is the volunteer branch of The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore.
Among the activities were a neighborhood cleanup at the Proctor Street Garden in East Baltimore with Civic Works and residents of the Lillian Jones Apartment Building; distributing surveys for community enhancement in East Baltimore with Living Classrooms; and serving meals to the homeless and hungry at Beans & Bread in Fells Point and the Helping Up Mission in East Baltimore.
Also, volunteers served treats, played games and created crafts with residents of Woodholme Gardens; ran a festival for children at the Sarah’s Hope shelter on Mount Street; and served dinners at the Weinberg Housing and Resource Center.
In addition, volunteers participated in family-friendly, mitzvah-related activities at the Park Heights Jewish Community Center. There was also an interfaith dialogue and food pantry collection between the Baltimore Jewish Council, Repair the World and the local Islamic community at the Muslim Community Cultural Center of Baltimore.
“We were so thrilled to be able to host a Martin Luther King Jr. Service Day in our community,” said Ashley Pressman, executive director of JVC.. “We had a huge response from volunteers of all ages who were interested in taking part and reflecting on MLK’s legacy. One of JVC’s goals is to encourage communities to connect and engage with each other to deepen understanding and inspire service as a way of building our community together.”
Photos: (Top) Towson resident Stephanie Helfman, a JVC volunteer, helps spread manure at Charm City Farms, a nonprofit in Baltimore’s Johnston Square.
(Middle) Marc Grossblatt cleans up debris in the Johnston Square neighborhood.
(Bottom) Brent Fried (left) and his father, Adam Fried, both of Baltimore, help spread at Charm City Farms.
Photos by Steve Ruark