Sharing the spirit of Valentine’s Day

I can’t remember the last time I cut a heart from craft paper. Not until yesterday evening, that is. Actually, I was more successful at helping the six year old girl create a Valentine’s Day card for her mom than attempting to do it on my own. I tried to fold the paper a thousand different ways, yet I still ended up with a backwards heart. Some of us are just not that savvy when it comes to arts and crafts! However, don’t let that scare you. Savvy or not, that didn’t stop me from volunteering a couple of hours with kids at the Community Family Life Services (CFLS) for a literacy-focused community event.

On the second Thursday of every month, the Junior League of Washington provides volunteers at CFLS, an 18 month transitional housing facility for women. The women who belong to this facility are formerly homeless, but now are on the road to recovery and have gained custody of their children from the foster care system.

What I personally found most interesting about this community experience was the breakdown of the actual evening. As an incoming transfer, I signed up for the shift, thinking that the focus of the CFLS placement is childcare related. I didn’t expect it to be a literacy focused community event, where the League Committee members engage the mothers with poetry and book discussions. I found this absolutely fascinating! While the women enjoyed their adult time with a committee member and each other, Junior League volunteers entertained the children with various activities such as games and arts and crafts. Since Valentine’s Day is around the corner, all of the kids were eager to make Valentine’s cards for their families. They were also eager to run around the gym like cheetahs - so if you are feeling low on energy one of these days, come and join in the fun!