Reprinted from the Warren Record by Luci Weldon
On Monday morning, 83 people from across Warren County gathered at Warren County High School to participate in the local Community Service Project held in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Those attending included a diverse group of children and adults from all walks of life, including county government representatives, teachers, students, former elected officials and area citizens.
Rachel Head, Warren County FoodCorps service member, who coordinated the event, said that 55 people originally signed up to help with projects to prepare the school’s garden and greenhouse for the upcoming growing season. Assisting with the project were Warren County Cooperative Extension, and local nonprofits Working Landscapes and Warren FoodWorks.
Head told the volunteer gardeners that she and other event organizers appreciated their dedication in commemorating King’s life through the day of service.
For many who attended, the event represented an ideal way to honor King through helping the community.
“Instead of taking a holiday, I wanted to do something to help someone else,” Arcola resident Al Cooper said.
Warren County Manager Linda Worth said that she was participating in order to carry on King’s legacy and for what he did not only for African-Americans, but the people of the United States in general.
“I felt I needed to do something to benefit all people, especially young people,” she said. “(With) all races coming together, it is a really great event.”
Jessica Redmond, college advisor at WCHS and Warren New Tech High School, noted that the event mirrored King’s legacy of giving back to the community and the world, a goal that she wanted to carry out through participating.
Angelena Kearney-Dunlap, clerk to the Warren County Board of Commissioners, chose to become involved as a way of extending King’s legacy as well. She said that service to others should not be limited to one way, but should include working to help other people every day.
Vaughan Elementary School exceptional children’s teacher Erin Simons brought a number of her students to the day of service to provide them with the example of helping others so that they could learn to assist people where they live.
Many participants saw the Community Service Project not only as a way to commemorate King’s legacy, but also as a means to show the importance of a healthy diet and fresh foods. They included Kearney-Dunlap, Norlina resident Dolores Clark, as well as Amanda Lee Brown of Wilson. Brown traveled to Warren County to learn more about the WCHS garden and greenhouse with plans to develop similar growing spaces at an after-school program for at-risk children in Wilson. She later plans to expand her efforts to surrounding counties with a program following the New Tech model of project-based learning.
Whether they traveled from several counties away or from down the road, everyone attending joined forces to prepare the garden for spring. Children painted signs to mark crops growing in the garden, while both children and adults worked together to pull weeds and plant vegetable seeds in containers in the school greenhouse for use in school gardens across the district.
With more than 80 people helping, the work progressed quickly, and the greenhouse and garden were soon ready for the upcoming spring growing season.
Head expressed her gratitude that so many residents of Warren County and beyond devoted their time to work with the Community Service Project. She was especially happy with the participation of several local master gardeners as well as teachers and students of all ages, with older students guiding their younger counterparts.
“I am so thrilled we had all these people there,” Head said. “Having all these hands will really help us get started this spring.”