CR teens volunteer during spring break

 

No school means more volunteering for CR's dedicated team of teens. In honor of the week-long hiatus from their studies Monday, March 31st - Friday April 4th, volunteer opportunities have been moved up to earlier times during the day so the volunteers can make the most of their extra time. Mary Kathryn Brummet, an active CR volunteer, took full advantage of her break and volunteered three times during at Habitat for Humanity, Council on Aging and the Chain Reaction office. Between going to the beach and hanging out with her boyfriend, Mary Kathryn used a power saw for the first time while building a home, helped senior citizens stay mobile at a field trip to Bellingrath Gardens and outlined a service project for the fall that she been in charge of for the past three years. "The time spent helping others was far more beneficial than anything else I could have done with my time," she said. "I love that the extra effort I make can make so many people happy." Mary Kathryn isn't the only super volunteer, however. About 100 CR volunteers were out in the community, volunteering everywhere from  the Pensacola Opera's Artists in Residence Showcase to the Fricker Community and Pearl Nelson centers. With membership surpassing 700 teens and counting, CR is looking forward to a productive month loaded with awesome new opportunities and projects.

 

 

CR wants to help make Waterfront Rescue Mission's thrift store teen-friendly

CR Council members Mary Elizabeth Bush and Carlee Hoffmann are bringing socially- and environmentally-conscious teens together with a new project at the Waterfront Rescue Mission. Inspired by CR member Amethyst Strickland's environmental project in which she re-designed thrift store finds and made them into fashionable trends, Mary Elizabeth and Carlee are taking the project to the next level. The plan is to create a teen-friendly section of the Waterfront Rescue Mission thrift store, where teens can find name brand and gently-used secondhand clothing, supporting two causes at the same time: reducing their impact on the environment by re-using clothing and funding the WRM's efforts with the homeless. In addition to setting up, decorating, and organizing the store, CR volunteers will not only help within the store, but also to create a larger basis for donations, like hosting clothing drives at local high schools. Best wishes to Carlee and Mary Elizabeth as they begin to developing this new project.

Teens help families connect at Children's Services Center

Free hugs, anyone? CR volunteers helped spread the love at the Children's Services Center's "Spring Into Action" event, which promoted the importance of parents spending time with their kids. Volunteers assisted children and parents with Easter-themed activities and crafts, like egg dying and making bookmarks. CR volunteer Samantha Paedae said that she really enjoyed the project. "It was nice to see that people wanted to do things with their kids," she said.

Written by Barrett White, sophomore & Rachel Rowan, senior

Edited by Rachel Rowan