Doing Things

"They're actually DOING something!" the man on the corner of Greenmount and Chase said to me as I was walking back to the Community Center this past Saturday. It was Comcast Cares Day, and I was explaining to him why he had seen over 400 blue-shirted people with shovels and trash bags combing Johnston Square for trash all morning. As I told him about the partnership between St. Frances and Comcast had struck, he at first seemed skeptical, as if Comcast was trying to pull a fast one on this neighborhood. When I repeatedly insisted that, to my knowledge, the cable company doesn't have any diabolical motives behind this day, his attitude quickly changed to one of excitement and appreciation, and as I walked away, I thought, "Hey, this could be the start of something."

Comcast Cares Day was a bit different than previous events that the Community Center has hosted in that Mr. Moore and I were not responsible for all the planning. A few times before the day occurred, a couple representatives from Comcast came to St. Frances, walked the neighborhood, and shared ideas with Mr. Moore as to what projects could most enhance the neighborhood. Ultimately, they came up with trash pick-up, mural painting, garden planting, and fence painting as the tasks that would keep the most amount of volunteers busy. So when the day came (a bit on the early side for a Saturday, but hey, I'm going for the "Most Early Days As A Jesuit Volunteer at St. Frances" record), over 400 people showed up in our gym, and the Caring of Comcast Commenced!

After a rousing rendition of the National Anthem (sung by yours truly...truly, I did sing it) and some words from a full line-up of elected officials and other important people, the volunteers got to work. Under heavenly skies, they picked up trash at the playground where we take the After-School kids, they planted flowers in a garden overtaken by weeds, they painted hopscotch squares where there were no hopscotch squares before, and they painted the rusted fence of the swimming pool we had fought to keep open. They also did a lot of work on the school grounds, painting and planting and cleaning and other such service-oriented verbs. All in all, it was a very productive day in which both St. Frances Academy and Comcast put into action each's commitment to this community.

And that's what I liked best about the day: Community. It was pretty cool to see the number of different social groups, i.e. elected officials, fraternities, my JVC community, the SFA community, Johns Hopkins students, all come together to participate in something constructive. If you were a loner who just showed up looking to do some service and maybe grab a free t-shirt and lunch (which, by the way, was delicious...when was the last time I had an Italian sub?), you would have immediately felt welcome and at home.

So yes, it was one day, and maybe trash will blow right back onto the street tomorrow. But, as the man said, "They're actually DOING something!", and that has to count for something. Click here for WJZ's coverage of Comcast Cares Day, featuring two of my After-School kids, Cameron and Jahquan.

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In other news, I have some rockin' friends! I received a little box in the mail a few weeks ago, and lo and behold! RECORDERS were in it! That's right ladies and gents, remember those plastic flut-o-phone-type things that we all learned to play hot cross buns on in elementary school? Well, my good friends Andrea and MacKenzie decided to donate 35 of those snazzy, colorful noisemakers to my music class. They made their debut last week as I passed them out to each student. I started with the basics, like how to hold it, how to cover all the holes with you fingers, and how to play the notes C and D. Well, as you might imagine, progress was slow, but the kids absolutely LOVED having their own instruments to take home, and they were especially excited about the Loudest Note Contest at the end of the class (I'd have to say they were all winners in that one, as they soundly defeated both my eardrums in a shrill fury of air and plastic).

With guitars and recorders, music class is really shaping up! Thanks, Andrea and MacKenzie, for inspiring the next generation of recorder virtuosos!